Today in Switzerland: A round-up of the latest news on Monday
Find out what's going on today in Switzerland with The Local's short roundup of the news.
Swiss doctor: Covid has serious consequences for young patients
Martin Tramèr, head anesthesiologist at the Geneva University Hospitals (HUG) said in an interview that while most coronavirus patients in the ICUs are over 80 years old, there are also some as young as 30, who are not vaccinated.
“These people perhaps think that the virus cannot have severe consequences for them", Tramèr said.
And yet, sometimes the course of the disease is serious. “We have young people who stay for weeks in a hospital and are ventilated When they're extubated after four weeks of complete anesthesia, don't think they'll just be able to get up and go home”.
"Upon awakening, they will have extensive lung and other damage, and will require rehabilitation”, he added.
Reverse trend: Swiss companies are looking for unvaccinated employees
There is a lot of talk about employers seeking to hire only vaccinated candidates, but the opposite is also true: some companies are looking for craftsmen, roofers, plumbers, nurses and sales staff on a job platform for unvaccinated people, Impffrei.work.
The alternative job portal is aimed at vaccine skeptics, as “many intelligent and freedom-loving people have recognised the health risks posed by mRNA vaccines in particular and therefore do not want to be vaccinated," the website says.
Several dozen Swiss businesses regularly advertise on the vaccine skeptics platform, suggesting this is a marginal phenomenon at best, because there are over 550,000 companies registered in Switzerland.
READ MORE: Can an employer in Switzerland refuse to hire unvaccinated people?
In Switzerland, retirees are getting richer
In terms of wealth, retired people in Switzerland are ahead of everyone else, as their savings do not diminish with age, according to a new study by the University of Applied Sciences of Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW).
The average capital of a single person goes up from 400,000 francs to 600,000 between the ages of 65 and 90. The assets of 90-year-old couples can even reach an average of 1 million, the study shows.
In most other countries, the trend is toward the decrease of wealth among pensioners: people have the most money at age 65. But once they retire, their savings get smaller.
Swiss retirees are a special case, said study author Nora Meuli. "Our analysis shows that many people don't have to touch their savings when they find themselves in retirement."
Marius Brülhart, of the University of Lausanne, confirms: "A large part of retirees earn enough to keep putting money aside."
One of the possible reasons for this is the high rate of inheritance. Each year, nearly 90 billion francs change ownership in the context of inheritances.
READ MORE: A few of the benefits of growing old(er) in Switzerland
Milk from the robot is now allowed in traditional Fribourg cheese
Holy cow, is nothing sacred anymore?
The branch organisation for the famous Vacherin Fribourgeois cheese, which, along with Gruyère, is used in ‘moitié-moitié’ fondue, now allows the use of milk that has been milked by a robot — a practice that has been banned until now.
It took almost three years of testing and analysis of cheese’s quality to permit milking robots, according to Romain Castella, director of the branch association.
The milking robot has no negative impact on animal welfare, he noted. “On the contrary, the cows are freer and can decide when they are milked. The freer they are, the happier they are”. And the better their cheese tastes?
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 doctor: Covid has serious consequences for young patients
Martin Tramèr, head anesthesiologist at the Geneva University Hospitals (HUG) said in an interview that while most coronavirus patients in the ICUs are over 80 years old, there are also some as young as 30, who are not vaccinated.
“These people perhaps think that the virus cannot have severe consequences for them", Tramèr said.
And yet, sometimes the course of the disease is serious. “We have young people who stay for weeks in a hospital and are ventilated When they're extubated after four weeks of complete anesthesia, don't think they'll just be able to get up and go home”.
"Upon awakening, they will have extensive lung and other damage, and will require rehabilitation”, he added.
Reverse trend: Swiss companies are looking for unvaccinated employees
There is a lot of talk about employers seeking to hire only vaccinated candidates, but the opposite is also true: some companies are looking for craftsmen, roofers, plumbers, nurses and sales staff on a job platform for unvaccinated people, Impffrei.work.
The alternative job portal is aimed at vaccine skeptics, as “many intelligent and freedom-loving people have recognised the health risks posed by mRNA vaccines in particular and therefore do not want to be vaccinated," the website says.
Several dozen Swiss businesses regularly advertise on the vaccine skeptics platform, suggesting this is a marginal phenomenon at best, because there are over 550,000 companies registered in Switzerland.
READ MORE: Can an employer in Switzerland refuse to hire unvaccinated people?
In Switzerland, retirees are getting richer
In terms of wealth, retired people in Switzerland are ahead of everyone else, as their savings do not diminish with age, according to a new study by the University of Applied Sciences of Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW).
The average capital of a single person goes up from 400,000 francs to 600,000 between the ages of 65 and 90. The assets of 90-year-old couples can even reach an average of 1 million, the study shows.
In most other countries, the trend is toward the decrease of wealth among pensioners: people have the most money at age 65. But once they retire, their savings get smaller.
Swiss retirees are a special case, said study author Nora Meuli. "Our analysis shows that many people don't have to touch their savings when they find themselves in retirement."
Marius Brülhart, of the University of Lausanne, confirms: "A large part of retirees earn enough to keep putting money aside."
One of the possible reasons for this is the high rate of inheritance. Each year, nearly 90 billion francs change ownership in the context of inheritances.
READ MORE: A few of the benefits of growing old(er) in Switzerland
Milk from the robot is now allowed in traditional Fribourg cheese
Holy cow, is nothing sacred anymore?
The branch organisation for the famous Vacherin Fribourgeois cheese, which, along with Gruyère, is used in ‘moitié-moitié’ fondue, now allows the use of milk that has been milked by a robot — a practice that has been banned until now.
It took almost three years of testing and analysis of cheese’s quality to permit milking robots, according to Romain Castella, director of the branch association.
The milking robot has no negative impact on animal welfare, he noted. “On the contrary, the cows are freer and can decide when they are milked. The freer they are, the happier they are”. And the better their cheese tastes?
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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