The Federal Council’s intention to extend the current restrictions until the end of March is not well received. The cantons hope that the omicron wave will flatten out quickly.
The mask requirement at events such as the Swiss Canyon Trail in Neuchâtel is sometimes a challenge for the participants.
Although the omicron variant has been dominant in Switzerland for a few weeks, there is great uncertainty. It is still not possible to estimate how the rapid increase in the number of cases will affect the situation in the intensive care units.
The formula that applied in the earlier phases of the pandemic, “The tougher the restrictions are for the population, the more the number of cases falls”, is therefore increasingly being called into question. The Zurich constitutional law professor Felix Uhlmann demands: “It is actually time to rethink the previous logic of measures.”
This discussion has not yet reached the Federal Council. This is the only way to explain why the Federal Council submitted a package of measures for consultation on January 12, which is still based almost exclusively on the previous concept.
In essence, the state government simply wants to extend the measures that have been in force since December 20, such as stricter certification and home office requirements. And until March 31st. Until then, the Federal Council wants freedom of action. It is safer to extend the measures for so long. Health Minister Alain Berset argued that if the situation improved, it could always be lifted earlier.
More flexibility required
But many cantons see no point in it. For them, this period is clearly too long. They demand more flexibility and, if possible, a faster exit from the merry-go-round of ever-changing restrictions. The governments of the four eastern Swiss cantons of St. Gallen, Thurgau and the two Appenzells have unanimously rejected the Federal Council’s proposal to extend the measures until March 31, 2022.
As soon as the omicron wave has peaked and the number of infections has fallen, the cantons in eastern Switzerland believe that the measures should be relaxed quickly. Therefore, the current measures will initially only be extended until February 28, 2022.
The cantons of Bern and Basel-Landschaft also do not consider a fixed extension until the end of March to be appropriate. The situation must be reassessed by the end of February and then a decision must be made. This applies in particular to the obligation to work from home – an emphasis that other cantons, such as Vaud, are also setting. However, the Basel area is pushing the pace particularly hard: The Federal Council should work towards “that by the end of March 2022, in particular, the obligation to obtain certificates and by the end of June 2022 at the latest all Covid measures will be lifted”.
Romandy is also critical
The cantons also want the measures to be reviewed quickly with a view to the consequences for sporting and cultural events. It is interesting that there does not seem to be a Röstigraben on this question. This is despite the fact that the number of infections in the cantons of western Switzerland and Ticino is currently significantly higher than in German-speaking Switzerland.
In addition to Vaud, the cantons of Jura and Geneva only want the measures to be extended until the end of February and are demanding a new assessment of the situation around February 20th. Ticino, where sensitivity to the corona virus is particularly high, emphasizes the need to reassess the measures as early as the end of February.
The cantons of Zurich, Aargau, Solothurn, Lucerne and Basel-Stadt, on the other hand, welcome the continuation of the measures until the end of March because the situation in the hospitals is still tense and could worsen further because of Omikron. Some of these cantons have followed a rather cautious course over the past two years. Basel City Health Director Lukas Engelberger, as President of the cantonal health directors, is also in particularly close contact with Health Minister Berset.
As part of the package sent for consultation, the Federal Council is again more or less gently pointing out to the cantons that they too have the power to enact stricter measures. In particular, the cantons could impose capacity restrictions for major events.
This question is interesting not least because the many spectators who crowded together at the World Cup ski races in Adelboden and Wegen without masks brought some criticism to Switzerland from abroad. Nevertheless, interest in tightening the cantons is limited.
No cancellation of the Solothurn Film Festival
For example, the canton of Lucerne does not want to impose its own general restrictions. “According to the Government Council, such regulations must apply throughout Switzerland,” says the statement. It sounds similar in most other cantons. The Canton of Zurich also doesn’t believe in the new regulations for major events and is letting everything continue as before.
The Solothurn government would welcome a restriction on major events and also uniform regulations for sporting events with an audience. However, Solothurn is not active itself. Until Monday, there were no signs that the Solothurn Film Festival, one of the biggest events in the canton, would be restricted or even cancelled.
Only a few cantons are considering stricter measures for events. For example, the Jura, which is considering making masks compulsory for outdoor events. The government of the canton of Ticino, where the omicron wave first arrived, has already acted. Since January 4, there have been restrictive conditions for holding sports and cultural events in closed rooms with more than a thousand spectators. Among other things, a mask requirement also applies to those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered.
Like the majority of the cantons, the Ticino government is not considering revoking permits for major events that have already been granted in view of the changed situation. This means that the two NLA ice hockey clubs Ambri-Piotta and Lugano can continue to play their games. The canton of Aargau has put all applications for permits for major events on hold for the period of the epidemiologically critical phase.
Overall, the pressure on the Federal Council with regard to its meeting next Wednesday is low. It would therefore be surprising if he were to issue new restrictions that would be noticeable to the general public.