Today in Switzerland: A roundup of the latest news on Tuesday
Summer Covid forecast for Switzerland; a federal court revokes a foreigner's Swiss passport; and other news in our roundup on Tuesday.
Covid forecast for summer: Better than last year
Wastewater analysis shows a significant decrease in coronavirus infections in Switzerland, which leads health experts to surmise that “viral load” is much lower than last year at this time, according to Huldrych Günthard, chief of the Clinic for Infectious Diseases at the University Hospital Zurich.
This means that Switzerland will have a relatively Covid-free summer, especially as people will spend less time indoors.
“It will probably take a while before the infections increase again,” Günthard said in an interview on Monday.
"Unless, of course, a new variant comes along."
Right now, the omicron is still the prevalent virus, and it has not been as severe as its predecessors, Alpha and Delta.
There are no indications currently that new strains are circulating in Europe.
The number of crack users has grown in Geneva
Switzerland’s second-largest city often ranks near the top of global surveys in terms of quality of life, but Geneva also has a dark side: the number of crack users has doubled in 2022, in comparison to prevous year.
According to a statement released by the canton on Monday, the reason for the increase is that competing dealers are selling “the product at an extremely low price.”
The study also draws up the typical profile of a Geneva crack user: almost all of them are unemployed, 17 percent sleep in the street, and 23 percent suffer from sleep disorders.
‘Crazy, even by Swiss standards’: Zurich resident reports neighbour for overfilling trash bag
After a man dumped his overflowing garbage bag into a trash bin, his neighbor called the police and complained that the bag was too full.
The ‘offender’ shared his experience on social media, saying he filled his reglementary (taxed) trash bag to the brim, but still managed to tie the straps and close it.
However, his neighbour reported him to the police, resulting in a reprimand from the city administration.
While the rule is that the bag can’t be so full that trash falls through the cracks, in order for this act to be punishable, “intent of illegal disposal” must be proven, according to the municipal waste management company.
In the meantime, Reddit users, where the trash offender posted his story, have been critical of the overly persnickety neighbour.
"That's crazy, even by Swiss standards," one person remarked, while another pointed out the neighbour is a ‘bünzli,’ a Swiss German term to describe someone who follows all the rules and makes sure everyone else does too.
READ ALSO: Why the Swiss government rummages through your garbage
Leaving his older wife costs a foreigner his Swiss passport
After marrying a Swiss woman 30 years his senior and applying for citizenship five years later (in compliance with the simplified naturalisation law), a Tunisian man and his wife divorced.
He then left his wife to start a new family with another woman, with his child from the new marriage ‘inheriting’ the Swiss citizenship.
As the Swiss media reported on Monday, the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) found the man’s actions suspicious and revoked his and the child’s citizenship.
The man, whom the media identified as ‘Aziz’, appealed SEM’s decision to the Federal Administrative Court, but in vain: the judges ruled on Monday that “the rapid sequence between marriage, application for a Swiss passport, divorce and remarriage, feeds the suspicion of fraud.”
READ ALSO: Citizenship through marriage: What happens to your Swiss passport in case of divorce?
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]
Comments
See Also
Covid forecast for summer: Better than last year
Wastewater analysis shows a significant decrease in coronavirus infections in Switzerland, which leads health experts to surmise that “viral load” is much lower than last year at this time, according to Huldrych Günthard, chief of the Clinic for Infectious Diseases at the University Hospital Zurich.
This means that Switzerland will have a relatively Covid-free summer, especially as people will spend less time indoors.
“It will probably take a while before the infections increase again,” Günthard said in an interview on Monday.
"Unless, of course, a new variant comes along."
Right now, the omicron is still the prevalent virus, and it has not been as severe as its predecessors, Alpha and Delta.
There are no indications currently that new strains are circulating in Europe.
The number of crack users has grown in Geneva
Switzerland’s second-largest city often ranks near the top of global surveys in terms of quality of life, but Geneva also has a dark side: the number of crack users has doubled in 2022, in comparison to prevous year.
According to a statement released by the canton on Monday, the reason for the increase is that competing dealers are selling “the product at an extremely low price.”
The study also draws up the typical profile of a Geneva crack user: almost all of them are unemployed, 17 percent sleep in the street, and 23 percent suffer from sleep disorders.
‘Crazy, even by Swiss standards’: Zurich resident reports neighbour for overfilling trash bag
After a man dumped his overflowing garbage bag into a trash bin, his neighbor called the police and complained that the bag was too full.
The ‘offender’ shared his experience on social media, saying he filled his reglementary (taxed) trash bag to the brim, but still managed to tie the straps and close it.
However, his neighbour reported him to the police, resulting in a reprimand from the city administration.
While the rule is that the bag can’t be so full that trash falls through the cracks, in order for this act to be punishable, “intent of illegal disposal” must be proven, according to the municipal waste management company.
In the meantime, Reddit users, where the trash offender posted his story, have been critical of the overly persnickety neighbour.
"That's crazy, even by Swiss standards," one person remarked, while another pointed out the neighbour is a ‘bünzli,’ a Swiss German term to describe someone who follows all the rules and makes sure everyone else does too.
READ ALSO: Why the Swiss government rummages through your garbage
Leaving his older wife costs a foreigner his Swiss passport
After marrying a Swiss woman 30 years his senior and applying for citizenship five years later (in compliance with the simplified naturalisation law), a Tunisian man and his wife divorced.
He then left his wife to start a new family with another woman, with his child from the new marriage ‘inheriting’ the Swiss citizenship.
As the Swiss media reported on Monday, the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) found the man’s actions suspicious and revoked his and the child’s citizenship.
The man, whom the media identified as ‘Aziz’, appealed SEM’s decision to the Federal Administrative Court, but in vain: the judges ruled on Monday that “the rapid sequence between marriage, application for a Swiss passport, divorce and remarriage, feeds the suspicion of fraud.”
READ ALSO: Citizenship through marriage: What happens to your Swiss passport in case of divorce?
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]
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.