Swiss ease Covid-19 curbs and plan gradual phase-out

Face masks will remain in use for the time being in Switzerland, but the work-from-home and the quarantine rules for people in close contact with Covid patients are history. © Keystone/Gaetan Bally

The Swiss government has decided to abolish mandatory work-from-home and the quarantine rules in place to prevent an overload of the health system due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The decision is due to take effect as of Thursday.

The other measures will remain in place, notably the requirement to go into isolation for five days in case of an infection with Covid.

The government also announced plans to scrap other curbs, following consultations with the 26 cantons, employers, trade unions and parliamentary committees.

“We are confident that the hospitals and can cope with the situation, despite the continuing high number of new infections,” said Interior Minister Alain Berset on Wednesday.

He said the highly contagious Omicron variant was causing less severe cases compared with previous Covid viruses. The high immunity of the population, at just over 90%, was due to vaccination or earlier infections.

Mid-February

In two weeks, the government will decide on further steps to relax pandemic measures depending on the health situation, according to an official statementExternal link.

The options on the table include a staggered exit strategy or an abrupt end of all restrictions as early as February 17.

In a first step, restrictions on access to restaurants, indoor events, leisure and culture venues could be lifted and private gatherings would no longer be subject to a maximum number of participants.

Official approval for large outdoor events, including carnivals, would no longer be necessary.

However, other measures – the wearing of hygiene masks, a strict health certificate regulation for nightclubs, indoor swimming pools and brass band practices – would remain in place.

Travel restrictions

The government also plans to lift health measures at the borders and tourists would no longer need to receive Swiss Covid certificates.

Berset said the government would still issue certificates recognised by the European Union and that the Swiss policy will be adapted to the requirements for international travel.

“After two years we can see a way out of the crisis. Yet, it won’t be done in a day and with great fanfare but it’s a process,” he said.

Optimism

In a similar vein, Swiss President Ignazio Cassis said the developments over the past weeks were giving hope.

“Today is a beautiful day and the beginning of a new phase in a long crisis. There is a light on the horizon. But it’s not the end of the pandemic yet,” said Cassis at the news conference.

Both government members reiterated that it had always tried to remain pragmatic in its policy and that the anti-Covid vaccinations had been key for Switzerland to cope with the pandemic.

Wide-ranging restrictions on public life were first introduced in March 2020 and then eased and adapted over the course of the pandemic. In the face of the spread of the Omicron variant, the government again imposed curbs last December.

Concluding his statement, Cassis said Switzerland was about to regain a good deal of its freedom.

“But as history tells us freedom comes with responsibilities.”