After the government eased some of the restrictions from April 19th — including the re-opening of outdoor restaurant areas, as well as fitness clubs and other sports facilities — many in Switzerland expect it to loosen the remaining rules on Wednesday.
The government has not expressly stated which measures are being considered for relaxation.
However, based on previous statements - along with the government's own criteria for relaxation - these are some of the measures which could be wound back.
Quarantine
Anyone entering Switzerland from a risk country has to be in quarantine for 10 or seven days.
The Federal Council said it would consider lifting the travel quarantine requirements for vaccinated people or those who recovered from Covid and are therefore immune.
The Federal Council could relax quarantine requirements for travellers, according to NZZ am Sonntag.
Switzerland could follow the example set by Germany, where the quarantine obligation was lifted on Saturday for people who were vaccinated or recovered from Covid.
“It seems unrealistic to abolish travel quarantines altogether. Everything relating to tracing, isolation and quarantine remains one of the pillars of the fight against this pandemic”, said Karim Boubaker, Vaud’s cantonal doctor.
“But I think we can become selective in making decisions about people who are immune to coronavirus”, he added.
However, this may only happen once the immunity / vaccination certificate is launched, which is scheduled for the end of June.
Working from home office
Home work has been mandatory, whenever possible, from January 18th. This regulation has been much discussed within the Federal Council, and it is possible it will announce the end of the requirement on Wednesday.
"The mandate to work from home, which particularly harms small and medium-sized companies must now be dropped”, Fabio Regazzi, president of employers’ association told the 20 Minutes news portal.
What about the restaurants?
In the three weeks since outdoor spaces of restaurants and bars have been open, there has not been an increase in the number of infections. This positive development leads many in Switzerland to believe that the government will announce the re-opening of indoor spaces as well.
READ MORE: ANALYSIS: Why are Switzerland’s coronavirus numbers falling so sharply?
This seems plausible, based on a three-phase re-opening plan that the government outlined in April.
If the epidemiological situation remains favourable, the Federal Council said it will consider re-opening of indoor restaurant spaces from May 26th.
READ MORE: EXPLAINED: What is Switzerland’s three-phase plan for ending Covid-19 restrictions?
However, Martin Ackermann, head of the Covid-19 Task Force cautioned that it is still too early for restaurants to fully re-open because “encounters indoors without masks represent the greatest risk of infection”.
Still, the task force has been under a lot of criticism lately for its “alarmist” predictions, so it is not sure whether the Federal Council will take this view under advisement
One thing we know is that more extensive relaxations will only be allowed after the bulk of Switzerland’s population is immunised, which will not happen before August, and only if the pandemic doesn’t worsen, authorities said.
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