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Today in Switzerland: A round-up of the latest news on Thursday

The Local
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Today in Switzerland: A round-up of the latest news on Thursday
Zurich is among world's safest cities, a study shows. Photo by AFP

Find out what’s going on in Switzerland today with The Local’s round-up of the news in less than five minutes.

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Small earthquake felt the Bern area

The quake that had a magnitude of 2.8 on the Richter scale (9 is the highest) occurred just before midnight on Wednesday.

Though light, the earthquake was felt in Bern and the surrounding area, with 200 residents notifying the police of the incident immediately after it happened.

The quake caused no damage, the Swiss Seismological Service said.

Light earthquakes are not uncommon in Switzerland. Last year, the earthquake service at ETH Zurich recorded a total of 1,400 quakes.

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Covid-related immunity believed to last at least six months

Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, experts in Switzerland and elsewhere have said they didn’t know for sure how long people are immune to the virus after they contract the illness. 

But research carried out by University of Geneva found that practically all study participants who had been infected at the beginning of the outbreak in the spring of 2020, still had antibodies in their blood six to seven months later. This means that immunity to the virus likely lasts several months.

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Zurich, Bern and Basel are among the safest cities in the world for tourists

This is the finding of a new international study by Numbeo, which collects figures about cost of living and quality of life across the globe.

The three Swiss cities ranked among the top 20 urban centres which are perceived by visitors as safe and secure. Zurich ranked in fifth place, Bern in the 12th and Basel in the 16th of the 431 locations worldwide.

On the other hand, Geneva and Lausanne didn’t score as well, finding themselves in the 62nd and 92nd place, respectively.

Uber offers free rides to vaccination centres in Swiss cities

People who are elderly or in the high risk health category, along with medical staff and employees of care establishments, can now summon a Uber and be driven to a vaccination venue to get the shot.

This service is available in Zurich, Geneva, Lausanne, and Basel.

The trip will be free for up to 40 francs.

The offer is on a first come, first served basis, Uber said.
 

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