Today in Switzerland: A round-up of the latest news on Tuesday
Find out what's going on in Switzerland today with The Local's short round-up of the news.
New coronavirus treatment is on the horizon
Swiss pharmaceutical giant, Roche, announced that its antibody "cocktail", REGN-COV2, developed in collaboration with the American company Regeneron, reduces symptomatic cases by 81 percent.
"While vaccinations are accelerating globally, there are still unmet needs when it comes to preventing Covid infections”, according to Levi Garraway, Roche’s Chief Medical Officer.
There is no timeline yet for when this medication could become available, but the latest findings will soon be presented to regulatory bodies for authorisation.
We are excited to share positive data from a phase III study evaluating the potential of an antibody cocktail to both decrease disease burden and reduce the spread of #COVID19 between household contacts. Read more: https://t.co/W6USPB1iQV $RHHBY $ROG pic.twitter.com/oQvLjVkUF6
— Roche (@Roche) April 12, 2021
Zurich "erases" racism from public spaces
Municipal authorities have decided to rid the city of all texts and images that could be interpreted as racist or offensive.
"Racism does not manifest itself only in concrete acts, but also in the way something is perceived. And since these images and words are perceived in an offensive way, we remove them", said Christof Meier, director of Zurich’s Integration Office.
Messages judged as racist are removed from public spaces, but Meier said the city is also talking to with private entities, trying to convince them to follow suit.
READ MORE: How do the Swiss really feel about foreigners?
Serious reactions from Covid vaccines are rare in Switzerland
Drug regulatory agency, Swissmedic, investigated 1,174 reports of suspected adverse reactions to Pfizer / Biontech and Moderna vaccines administered in Switzerland.
Overall, it found that serious adverse reactions are rare, and most reported side effects are mild and temporary.
They “do not change the positive benefit-risk ratio of Covid vaccines”, the agency said.
The Local will publish an article today about the most common side effects to the Covid-19 vaccine in Switzerland.
Postal service loses a Rolex watch
An 8,000-franc watch, which was purchased on a Swiss online auction site and shipped to its owner by mail, mysteriously “disappeared” somewhere between Fribourg and Sedrun (GR).
Packed in three nested boxes, it couldn’t have fallen out, Swiss public broadcaster SRF reported.
The mystery deepened as an internal postal document revealed that 120 grams — exactly the weight of the watch — disappeared from the package between midnight in the Frauenfeld distribution centre and 3am in the Untervaz distribution center.
Based on this evidence, the owner suspects that a postal employee stole the watch and sent the empty package onward.
However, postal service denies any wrongdoing.
“I find it extremely unfortunate that the post office is actively looking the other way, even though they have a thief in their midst”, the watch’s owner said.
If you have any questions about life in Switzerland, ideas for articles or news tips for The Local, please get in touch with us at [email protected]
Comments
See Also
New coronavirus treatment is on the horizon
Swiss pharmaceutical giant, Roche, announced that its antibody "cocktail", REGN-COV2, developed in collaboration with the American company Regeneron, reduces symptomatic cases by 81 percent.
"While vaccinations are accelerating globally, there are still unmet needs when it comes to preventing Covid infections”, according to Levi Garraway, Roche’s Chief Medical Officer.
There is no timeline yet for when this medication could become available, but the latest findings will soon be presented to regulatory bodies for authorisation.
We are excited to share positive data from a phase III study evaluating the potential of an antibody cocktail to both decrease disease burden and reduce the spread of #COVID19 between household contacts. Read more: https://t.co/W6USPB1iQV $RHHBY $ROG pic.twitter.com/oQvLjVkUF6
— Roche (@Roche) April 12, 2021
Zurich "erases" racism from public spaces
Municipal authorities have decided to rid the city of all texts and images that could be interpreted as racist or offensive.
"Racism does not manifest itself only in concrete acts, but also in the way something is perceived. And since these images and words are perceived in an offensive way, we remove them", said Christof Meier, director of Zurich’s Integration Office.
Messages judged as racist are removed from public spaces, but Meier said the city is also talking to with private entities, trying to convince them to follow suit.
READ MORE: How do the Swiss really feel about foreigners?
Serious reactions from Covid vaccines are rare in Switzerland
Drug regulatory agency, Swissmedic, investigated 1,174 reports of suspected adverse reactions to Pfizer / Biontech and Moderna vaccines administered in Switzerland.
Overall, it found that serious adverse reactions are rare, and most reported side effects are mild and temporary.
They “do not change the positive benefit-risk ratio of Covid vaccines”, the agency said.
The Local will publish an article today about the most common side effects to the Covid-19 vaccine in Switzerland.
Postal service loses a Rolex watch
An 8,000-franc watch, which was purchased on a Swiss online auction site and shipped to its owner by mail, mysteriously “disappeared” somewhere between Fribourg and Sedrun (GR).
Packed in three nested boxes, it couldn’t have fallen out, Swiss public broadcaster SRF reported.
The mystery deepened as an internal postal document revealed that 120 grams — exactly the weight of the watch — disappeared from the package between midnight in the Frauenfeld distribution centre and 3am in the Untervaz distribution center.
Based on this evidence, the owner suspects that a postal employee stole the watch and sent the empty package onward.
However, postal service denies any wrongdoing.
“I find it extremely unfortunate that the post office is actively looking the other way, even though they have a thief in their midst”, the watch’s owner said.
If you have any questions about life in Switzerland, ideas for articles or news tips for The Local, please get in touch with us at [email protected]
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.