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Today in Switzerland: A roundup of the latest news on Wednesday

Helena Bachmann
Helena Bachmann - [email protected]
Today in Switzerland: A roundup of the latest news on Wednesday
People wait to receive a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against the coronavirus at the Robert Picque military hospital (HIA) in Villenave-d'Ornon, southwestern France, on April 6, 2021, during a vaccination campaign to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by MEHDI FEDOUACH / AFP)

Find out what's going on today in Switzerland with The Local's short roundup of the news.

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Coronavirus immunity lasts more than six months, Swiss health official says 

The common belief among medical community right now is that immunity to coronavirus lasts six months after being fully vaccinated or recovering from the disease.

But the resistance to the virus may actually last longer.

"We regularly discuss the data available with the experts and their current point of view is that the protection lasts longer than six months —probably between nine and 12, and maybe even longer”, said Virginie Masserey, head of the infection control section at the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH).

This means that people who received their Covid shots at the beginning of the inoculation campaign in January “have nothing to worry about”, she added.

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Each Swiss has nearly half a million francs in assets, central bank says

On average, every person in Switzerland owns assets totalling 460,000 francs, according to statistics from the Swiss National Bank (SNB).

This makes Swiss residents among the wealthiest in the world.

However, as individual assets have doubled in the past 20 years, inequalities in the distribution of wealth have also increased.

For instance, the richest 1 percent of the population saw their wealth grow by 43 percent, while the assets of the bottom 75 percent went up by only 18.6 percent, figures from the calculations of the Federal Tax Administration indicate.

Experts report downward trend for the pandemic

All indicators show a decline in the coronavirus pandemic in Switzerland, according to a report by Switzerland’s Covid-19 scientific working group.

The seven-day average R-rate, which indicates how quickly the virus spreads through a community, stands at 0.85 — well below the treshold of 1.

At the same time, the number of confirmed cases has decreased by 31 percent per week, hospitalisations dropped by 22 percent and deaths by 16 percent..

In all age groups, a statistically significant decrease in the number of infections is also observed.

Health officials also report that as of June 1st, more than 20 percent of Switzerland's population are fully vaccinated.

READ MORE: ANALYSIS: What has Switzerland done right and wrong in managing the Covid pandemic?

Will Zurich remove racist artifacts from public places?

Municipal authorities are faced with a difficult choice between their city’s historical legacy and cultural sensitivity.

The debate revolves around the question: What to do about house names, pictures and statues in the middle of the city that seem racist from today's perspective?

Officials are choosing the latter option.

For instance, in Zurich's historic district, inscriptions and plaques containing the word "Mohr" — which literally means ‘Moor’ but is often used in reference to a black person — are being removed from several houses.

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]

 

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