Today in Switzerland: A roundup of the latest news on Wednesday
Why you will be hearing sirens this afternoon; Zurich downsizes its apartments; and more Swiss news in our roundup on Wednesday.
Nationwide alarm system to be tested today
The 5,000 fixed and 2,200 mobile sirens in Switzerland will be tested today, as they are every year on the first Wednesday of February.
The test will be conducted between 1:30 pm and 4 pm.
Communication channels on the Alertswiss app will also be tested.
The signal – a steady oscillating siren lasting one minute – is intended to alert the population of an impending emergency or disaster.
The second siren, used to warn people who live near dams of impending water-related danger, is a series of 12 bursts of 20 seconds each at 10-second intervals.
READ ALSO: Switzerland’s annual siren test
More dwellings are built in Zurich, but they are smaller than before
There is some good news for residents of Switzerland’s largest city, which has been suffering from a housing shortage for many months: 3,047 new apartments were built in Zurich last year.
That is 481 more than a year earlier.
Also, more apartments are currently under construction, according to a statement from Zurich’s Statistical Office released on Tuesday.
However, to save space and build more units, there is a trend towards smaller apartments, so households end up being “closer together.”
In these new accommodations, 51 percent of single people are now content with one or two rooms, whereas 10 years ago — that is, before the acute housing shortage — it was only 41 percent.
Government seeks to reduce infections in Swiss hospitals
Currently, 6 percent of patients in Switzerland get infected in medical facilities — which, needless to say, defies the purpose of a hospital stay.
To lower the number of contminations, federal and cantonal authorities, along with hospitals, are developing “a national strategy for surveillance, prevention and control” of this problem, the Federal Council said in a press release on Tuesday.
Their goal is to reduce the number of infections to 5 percent by 2030 and to 4 percent by 2035.
American caught in Zurich disposing of his trash incorrectly
As local media reported on Tuesday, “a US expat recently became acquainted with the Swiss waste disposal culture.”
The clueless fellow apparently threw a carton box in which his new mobile phone was packed into a trash can at a tram stop. His name and address were still affixed to it.
Next thing he knew, he received a ‘violation report’ from the police for not complying with waste management rules — that is, forthrowing cardboard into a ‘regular’ bin rather than recycling it.
“I wouldn’t have expected someone to dig through the trash,” the offender said, obviously not knowing how Switzerland works.
The man is now waiting to receive his fine in the mail, which could be as high 320 francs.
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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Nationwide alarm system to be tested today
The 5,000 fixed and 2,200 mobile sirens in Switzerland will be tested today, as they are every year on the first Wednesday of February.
The test will be conducted between 1:30 pm and 4 pm.
Communication channels on the Alertswiss app will also be tested.
The signal – a steady oscillating siren lasting one minute – is intended to alert the population of an impending emergency or disaster.
The second siren, used to warn people who live near dams of impending water-related danger, is a series of 12 bursts of 20 seconds each at 10-second intervals.
READ ALSO: Switzerland’s annual siren test
More dwellings are built in Zurich, but they are smaller than before
There is some good news for residents of Switzerland’s largest city, which has been suffering from a housing shortage for many months: 3,047 new apartments were built in Zurich last year.
That is 481 more than a year earlier.
Also, more apartments are currently under construction, according to a statement from Zurich’s Statistical Office released on Tuesday.
However, to save space and build more units, there is a trend towards smaller apartments, so households end up being “closer together.”
In these new accommodations, 51 percent of single people are now content with one or two rooms, whereas 10 years ago — that is, before the acute housing shortage — it was only 41 percent.
Government seeks to reduce infections in Swiss hospitals
Currently, 6 percent of patients in Switzerland get infected in medical facilities — which, needless to say, defies the purpose of a hospital stay.
To lower the number of contminations, federal and cantonal authorities, along with hospitals, are developing “a national strategy for surveillance, prevention and control” of this problem, the Federal Council said in a press release on Tuesday.
Their goal is to reduce the number of infections to 5 percent by 2030 and to 4 percent by 2035.
American caught in Zurich disposing of his trash incorrectly
As local media reported on Tuesday, “a US expat recently became acquainted with the Swiss waste disposal culture.”
The clueless fellow apparently threw a carton box in which his new mobile phone was packed into a trash can at a tram stop. His name and address were still affixed to it.
Next thing he knew, he received a ‘violation report’ from the police for not complying with waste management rules — that is, forthrowing cardboard into a ‘regular’ bin rather than recycling it.
“I wouldn’t have expected someone to dig through the trash,” the offender said, obviously not knowing how Switzerland works.
The man is now waiting to receive his fine in the mail, which could be as high 320 francs.
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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