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Which cantons are worst at enforcing coronavirus measures?

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Which cantons are worst at enforcing coronavirus measures?
A man in a mask walks in front of Swiss Parliament in Bern. Photo: FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP

Switzerland’s federal government has criticises cantonal authorities for failing to properly implement coronavirus controls, with some cantons singled out for particularly poor behaviour.

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An official letter from the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health to the cantons has said “increased control is required” in order to stop the spread of the virus. 

The federal authorities were critical of the cantons for failing to adopt the basic measures as required by the cantons. 

Information received by Swiss tabloid Blick shows a wide divergence in how many controls are carried out in different cantons. 

The major source of criticism was a failure to enforce measures at slaughterhouses, butchers and other food processing plants. Construction sites and beauty services should also be checked. 

The controls look to see if hygiene and social distancing rules are complied with in workplaces. 

READ: Face masks compulsory in shops and airport from today

Switzerland’s northern neighbour Germany has had a number of outbreaks at food processing plants and slaughterhouses. 

The feds said “there is a need to monitor more” in companies “for which increased risks are suspected”. 

Blick reports that several cantons have decided to step up their controls as a result of the letter. 

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Which cantons are failing to enforce coronavirus measures? 

Not all cantons were behaving equally, the report found. 

While Basel City and Thurgau performed controls on more than 1,300 companies to determine compliance with coronavirus measures since the start of July, St Gallen has made 650 checks - despite having a population more than double that of Basel City and Thurgau. 

Zug has only performed 40 such inspections, while Glarus has failed to make one inspection on any business anywhere. 

UPDATE: Where in Switzerland are masks compulsory right now? 

Authorities in Zurich - Switzerland’s most populous canton - along with those from Valais and Graubünden have failed to release any information about cantonal numbers. 

The quality of the controls also varies widely, according to the report. 

Inspectors in Basel City found 760 defects in their inspections, while in Thurgau only 96 complaints were identified.

Construction sites particularly problematic 

Checks on constriction sites revealed dozens of breaches.

In Basel City alone, there were 107 breaches from 167 inspections. A total of 6,200 checks were made across Switzerland, from which 60 ‘serious’ breaches were found. 

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