Tag Archives: health

The think tank Avenir Suisse has calculated that in 2020 the Swiss federal government spent CHF 5 per person per day on the pandemic, a total of CHF 41 million a day. © Dariusz Kopestynski | Dreamstime.comWhile an enormous sum, this compares favourably to a number of other nations. For example, the UK spent CHF 8 francs per person per day and the US government a whopping CHF 15 per person per day. One big differentiator was Switzerland’s deployment of partial unemployment payments....

The Swiss health insurer Groupe Mutuel announced that it plans to refund CHF 400 million to its policy holders, according to RTS. © Marlon Trottmann | Dreamstime.comThe company, which started returning money to its policy holders two years ago hopes to provide further premium rebates over the next three years. Last year the company returned CHF 101 million and plans a repay a further CHF 113 million in 2022. Over a four year period, total repayments are expected to reach CHF 400...

Lukas Engelberger, head of the association of cantonal health directors, has recommended making Covid certificates compulsory for riding on Swiss ski lifts, reported Le Nouvelliste. Verbier lift in 2020 © Le News According to Engelberger, requiring Covid passes to access ski lifts would remove the need to wear masks and make people feel safer. In any case most skiers are likely to have a certificate, he said. In addition, resorts would be able to increase lift...

Lukas Engelberger, head of the association of cantonal health directors, has recommended making Covid certificates compulsory for riding on Swiss ski lifts, reported Le Nouvelliste. Verbier lift in 2020 © Le News According to Engelberger, requiring Covid passes to access ski lifts would remove the need to wear masks and make people feel safer. In any case most skiers are likely to have a certificate, he said. In addition, resorts would be able to increase lift...

Switzerland’s largest health insurers are poised to refund around CHF 300 million to policy holders, reported RTS. © Yulan | Dreamstime.comSwitzerland’s health insurers have reserves of roughly CHF 12 billion, around 2 times the minimum reserve requirement, and have been under pressure from the government to return the money to policy holders. This week Switzerland’s parliament decided to go one step further and force them to reduce their reserves. Parliamentarian Lorenzo Quadri said...

Ultimately, the plants we eat are made up of energy from the sun and compounds and elements extracted from the soil. Meat, eggs and diary are the same, just one step removed. © Stevanovicigor | Dreamstime.comThis means the availability and nutritional value of food is heavily dependent on healthy soil. A recently released commission report raises the alarm over the lack of information and monitoring of Swiss soil and argues the nation must work harder to protect its soil. If a global...

. On 8 September 2012, the Swiss government decided to extends the use of Covid certificates. From Monday 13 September 2021, a certificate will be required to enter bars, restaurants, museums, cinemas, theatres and pools, a system already operating in numerous countries, such as Italy. The decision comes on a day when the health authorities announced the highest number of new daily cases in several months (3,550). As we head towards winter, the government is...

© Sudok1 | Dreamstime.com The latest figures on Covid-19 patients in intensive care in Swiss hospitals show a steep rise in numbers. On 18 August 2021, there were a reported 163 Covid-19 patients in intensive care wards across Switzerland. This number is far from the peaks of the first and second waves when ICU Covid-19 patient numbers exceeded 500, however the rise over the last month has been steep. On 18 July, there were fewer than 20 ICU Covid-19 patients. By 18...

Berset insists that more people need to be vaccinated to defeat the pandemic. Keystone / Peter Schneider Health Minister Alain Berset has urged companies to back the government’s Covid-19 vaccination campaign, arguing it is in the economy’s interest to get as many people vaccinated as possible. Speaking to the SonntagsBlick newspaper on Sunday, Berset said thatExternal link: “Greater commitment from business is needed.” Earlier this week, the government said that...

© Marcos del Mazo | Dreamstime.com Swissmedic, Switzerland’s drug approval agency, extended approval of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine for use on 12 to 17 year olds this week. On 9 August 2021, Swissmedic said that it had carefully examined an application from Moderna Switzerland and had decided to extend the temporary authorisation for the use of its Spikevax vaccine on 12 to 17 year olds. The application, which included data on 3,732 vaccinated children aged between...