Protesters rally in Bern against new round of pandemic measures

Keystone / Peter Schneider

An estimated 300 opponents of the recently announced Covid-19 restrictions took part in a rally in the Swiss capital Bern on Saturday. 

The demonstration was announced on social media as a response to tighter restrictions on gatherings announced by the government on Friday.  Demonstrators held up the Swiss flag and constitution during the protest march through Bern. 

The protesters were supposed to march to the Swiss parliament, but the area was cordoned off by the police and a water cannon was stationed there to deter large gatherings. The march took a detour through the cobbled streets of the Old Town instead. The police called it an unauthorised rally but the gathering was peaceful, unlike similar protests in the past. 

The new measures announced on Friday are effective from Monday and restrict entry into restaurants, cultural, sporting and leisure venues and to indoor events to those who have been vaccinated or recovered from Covid-19 (so-called 2G rule). 

A requirement to work from home has also been reintroduced. Private gatherings are limited to ten people if there is one person from age 16 present who is unvaccinated or has not recovered from Covid-19.