Swiss parliamentary session to go ahead despite Covid-19 spike
Plexiglass is cleaned during the autumn session of parliament
Keystone / Peter Klaunzer
The special session of the House of Representatives scheduled for next Thursday and Friday will still take place, despite the steep rise in coronavirus cases. Masks will be obligatory.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA/ilj
This has been confirmed by Karin Burkhalter, parliamentary services head of information, to the Keystone-SDA news agency.
On Friday there were 6,634 new coronavirus cases in Switzerland, continuing the steep rise in infections during the week. This makes the country more badly affected than its neighbours: it now has 495 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. Only France approaches these levels at 450 cases per 100,000.
Several cantons – which are in charge of coronavirus measures – on Friday tightened their anti-Covid prevention, including placing limits on big events and small public and private gatherings.
More
More
Some Swiss cantons tighten Covid-19 measures, others wait
This content was published on
While some Swiss cantons imposed more drastic anti-coronavirus measures on Friday, others have decided to wait. New cases have spiked to over 6,600.
Burkhalter said there would be obligatory face masks at the session “for circulating in the meeting areas and parliamentary chambers”. But masks could be taken off if sitting behind plexiglass.
In order to protect the members of the Senate and House of Representatives, plexiglass partitions were installed between the seats of their chambers for September’s autumn parliamentary sessions. But parliamentarians were not obliged to wear masks for that session.
The special session will take place because parliamentarians have a heavy timetable of coronavirus-related measures to debate. This includes a regulation on business rents that was applied during the lockdown and the COVID 19 Joint and Several Guarantee OrdinanceExternal link to provide Swiss companies with liquidity. This went into force in March via an emergency decree but it needs retrospective application into law.
Although it is not currently taking the lead on coronavirus measures, the government has imposed some nationwide rules, such as the compulsory wearing of masks in public buildings. It is set to make a fresh set of announcements on Wednesday, a day before the session is due to start.
How is your country dealing with the return of stolen artifacts?
Western nations like Switzerland often have to deal with the process of recovering or returning looted artifacts which have been illegally imported. What’s the situation like in your country?
What do you think Switzerland’s Alain Berset can bring to the Council of Europe?
The former interior minister is to become the first Swiss Secretary General of the Council of Europe – which issues should his five-year term focus on?
Ukrainian children flown to Switzerland for cancer treatment
This content was published on
The Swiss air rescue service Rega flew two Ukrainian children with cancer to Switzerland from a hospital in Kyiv hit by Russian missiles.
Swiss Solidarity raises over CHF10 million for victims of extreme weather
This content was published on
The money raised will be used to help those affected by the recent storms and flooding in the cantons of Ticino, Graubünden, and Valais.
Swiss giant Roche given green light for lung cancer drug in Canada
This content was published on
According to a recent study, Roche’s Alecensaro reduced the risk of recurrence or death by 76% compared to chemotherapy alone.
Swiss luxury watch market hit hard by China-led slump
This content was published on
Sales of Swiss-made luxury watches are in sharp retreat as nervous consumers reconsider splashing out on expensive timepieces and demand slumps.
Swiss foreign minister briefs Russian counterpart on Ukraine peace summit
This content was published on
Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis met with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in New York, during Russia's presidency of the UN Security Council.
Criminal proceedings filed over Swiss components in Russian weapons
This content was published on
The Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs has opened more than 50 administrative criminal proceedings for violations of sanctions against Russia.
Government plans tightening anti-Covid restrictions
This content was published on
Interior Minister Berset says further measures will be introduced, if steps taken at the weekend to slow the spread of Covid-19 proved insufficient.
This content was published on
The autumn parliamentary session is underway, with new plexiglass dividers in place and pandemic-related legislation up for debate.
Enough masks in stock for Swiss population until end of 2020
This content was published on
Even if masks become mandatory in indoor public spaces nationwide, as media reports suggest, supply bottlenecks are unlikely.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.