Today in Switzerland: A roundup of the latest news on Friday
Find out what's going on today in Switzerland with The Local's short roundup of the news.
Swiss pharmacies are ready to hunt down fake vaccination records
False certificates are offered for sale on social media and some residents of Switzerland were caught in border regions of Germany last week presenting fake certificates in pharmacies.
In Switzerland, certificates are only issued in pharmacies after a second injection of the vaccine or immediately following a negative test, according to Yves Zenger, spokesperson for the Association of Pharmacists.
“We check the type of vaccine, the country of administration, the date, the batch number of the vaccine and personal data,” said Lorenz Schmid of the umbrella association, Pharmasuisse.
While not revealing other clues on how to recognise false documents as a precautionary measure, “pharmacies are quite capable of finding fakes, also sometimes on the basis of our intuition", he added.
READ MORE: Canton-by-canton: How visitors can get Switzerland’s Covid certificate
Swiss tourists plan Christmas trips to New York
With the United States lifting its ban on foreign travellers from the beginning of November, Swiss travel agencies are already seeing an increase in demand for flights from Switzerland to New York, especially during the Christmas season.
“The United States is one of the most popular destinations for the Swiss, and many customers have been eagerly awaiting this news,” a spokesperson for Kuoni travel agency said.
Travellers from Switzerland are not only booking Christmas shopping trips to New York, but also vacations in Florida, which is still one of the most popular winter destinations, according to Walter Kunz, managing director of the Swiss Travel Association.
READ MORE: US to lift travel ban for fully vaccinated passengers from Europe
Agreement on teleworking cross-border workers from France extended
During the pandemic, many cross-border commuters from France were not able to come to their Swiss jobs and had to work from home.
The agreement between Bern and Paris signed on May 13th, 2020, ensured that these employees could continue to benefit from the same tax regimes as before the crisis.
It remains in force until the end of December, but may be extended if the epidemiological situation in both countries doesn’t improve, the State Secretariat for International Financial Matters announced.
Recall of defective masks
Masks of the brand "myfixmask" N95 / FFP2 offer insufficient protection against the coronavirus and are being recalled by the importer Yoobopo along with with the Accident Prevention Bureau (BPA).
Their filtering effect was found to be insufficient, posing a risk of "irreversible damage to health".
Only N95 Disposable Respirator / Protective Mask manufactured by Elis SHPK are concerned by the recall.
Customers who purchased these masks should not use them but are advised to contact the importer in order to exchange them for masks that are compliant with the norms.
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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Swiss pharmacies are ready to hunt down fake vaccination records
False certificates are offered for sale on social media and some residents of Switzerland were caught in border regions of Germany last week presenting fake certificates in pharmacies.
In Switzerland, certificates are only issued in pharmacies after a second injection of the vaccine or immediately following a negative test, according to Yves Zenger, spokesperson for the Association of Pharmacists.
“We check the type of vaccine, the country of administration, the date, the batch number of the vaccine and personal data,” said Lorenz Schmid of the umbrella association, Pharmasuisse.
While not revealing other clues on how to recognise false documents as a precautionary measure, “pharmacies are quite capable of finding fakes, also sometimes on the basis of our intuition", he added.
READ MORE: Canton-by-canton: How visitors can get Switzerland’s Covid certificate
Swiss tourists plan Christmas trips to New York
With the United States lifting its ban on foreign travellers from the beginning of November, Swiss travel agencies are already seeing an increase in demand for flights from Switzerland to New York, especially during the Christmas season.
“The United States is one of the most popular destinations for the Swiss, and many customers have been eagerly awaiting this news,” a spokesperson for Kuoni travel agency said.
Travellers from Switzerland are not only booking Christmas shopping trips to New York, but also vacations in Florida, which is still one of the most popular winter destinations, according to Walter Kunz, managing director of the Swiss Travel Association.
READ MORE: US to lift travel ban for fully vaccinated passengers from Europe
Agreement on teleworking cross-border workers from France extended
During the pandemic, many cross-border commuters from France were not able to come to their Swiss jobs and had to work from home.
The agreement between Bern and Paris signed on May 13th, 2020, ensured that these employees could continue to benefit from the same tax regimes as before the crisis.
It remains in force until the end of December, but may be extended if the epidemiological situation in both countries doesn’t improve, the State Secretariat for International Financial Matters announced.
Recall of defective masks
Masks of the brand "myfixmask" N95 / FFP2 offer insufficient protection against the coronavirus and are being recalled by the importer Yoobopo along with with the Accident Prevention Bureau (BPA).
Their filtering effect was found to be insufficient, posing a risk of "irreversible damage to health".
Only N95 Disposable Respirator / Protective Mask manufactured by Elis SHPK are concerned by the recall.
Customers who purchased these masks should not use them but are advised to contact the importer in order to exchange them for masks that are compliant with the norms.
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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