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Today in Switzerland: A round-up of the latest news on Monday

Helena Bachmann
Helena Bachmann - [email protected]
Today in Switzerland: A round-up of the latest news on Monday
Swiss soldiers wearing protective facemasks gather in a classroom, on April 30, 2020, at the Swiss army barracks of Chamblon, in order to install on their smartphone, for field tests, an app created by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) that could help trace those who have been in close contact with someone who tested positive for the COVID-19 caused by the novel coronavirus. - A unit of Swiss army conscripts are taking the fight to the coronavirus pandemic by helping to develop a Bluetooth-based smartphone app aimed at suppressing a resurgence of COVID-19. (Photo by FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP)

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

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Swiss health experts: Fourth vaccine dose ‘useless’ right now

Even though Israel began administering a fourth Covid shot to its population, Swiss experts believe that at this point additional jabs are not needed in Switzerland.

According to vaccine specialist Alessandro Diana, we must have more studies "to better understand the effect of the third dose. At the moment, nothing indicates that a fourth injection of the same product would be really useful".

READ MORE: New stats show effectiveness of Switzerland’s Covid booster campaign

Pharmaceutical companies have announced they are working on a reformulated vaccine to fight Omicron, but experts say it is better to wait and see whether this variant continues to infect, as more people build immunity to it.

“The goal is not to boost our antibodies against a virus that no longer exists", said Giuseppe Pantaleo, director of the Immunology and Allergy Department at the Vaud University Hospital (CHUV).

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Epidemiologist calls for end of quarantine obligation

While various experts have spoken in favour of reducing the length of quarantines, epidemiologist Marcel Salathé is calling for suspending them altogether.

Instead, 10 rapid tests should be sent to anyone who has been in contact with an infected person and these people would have to test themselves daily. In the result is negative, they can go to work, he said in an interview with SonntagsZeitung.

Even though Salathé conceded there would be some "residual risk" to this method, "given great losses to the economy if half of Switzerland had to stay at home due to suspected Covid-19”, this method is a sound solution, he added.

READ MORE: Most Swiss cantons shorten their quarantine requirements

You’re in the army now — or are you?

As was the case in 2021,  over 11,000 new recruits set to begin their military service on January 17th are told to do their training at home. They will not be required to physically report for duty until January 31st.

In addition, all soldiers will be required to have a Covid test before starting their service and will only be allowed to do so if the result is negative. Those tested positive will have to continue will with distance learning, as long as their health permits it.

Also, entry to recruit school will be staggered. "This solution allows people who test positive to be better supervised and the necessary isolation and quarantine measures to be applied," the military said.

Let’s hope the army will not be called up to attack Liechtenstein in the meantime.

READ MORE: Swiss army bans WhatsApp due to privacy concerns

Switzerland’s most popular car is…

Compared to 2020, "the demand for new passenger cars has increased significantly" in 2021, according to the Association of Automobile Importers (Auto-Suisse).

And the most purchased new car, for the first time ever, was Tesla's Model 3; 5,074 of these vehicles were sold in the country last year, Auto-Suisse said.

Brand founder Elon Musk is not indifferent to the record-breaking sales. “Yay Switzerland”, he responded to Auto-Suisse’s tweet announcing Tesla’s dominance on the Swiss market.

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Federal Council: hiding their heads in the sand

As Covid cases continued to break all-time records last week, members of  the Federal Council have maintained their usual winter break, announcing they would not resume their regular activities until January 12th.

Although some in Switzerland have criticised the cabinet for taking so much time off during a health crisis, others treated it with humour by photoshopping the official government photo to show federal councillors hiding their heads in the sand.

This is the official photo...

Photo: Swiss government

...and the 'tweaked' one

Photo: Twitter

READ MORE: A foreigner’s guide to understanding Swiss politics in five minutes

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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Anonymous 2022/01/10 08:18
Unless the federal council are not planning to lift any of the at the moment useless restrictions (like PCR test for entry), it is better that they stay on vacation.

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