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After SARS cases in 2002/3 and the mild H1N1 swine flu in 2009, it was a new corona virus that had the world under control from the beginning of 2020. The Federal Council announced the extraordinary situation in spring 2020, based on the Epidemics Act and pandemic plans. In the summer there is a change to the special location.
The reality of the pandemic raised numerous questions that were not sufficiently clarified in advance: a reality check for the federal government, cantons, business, science and society. Who decides? Who pays? Are regional differences possible? Is the data on the situation reliable and up-to-date?
Specify normal, special and extraordinary
The federal government, parliament, cantons, science – they all analyzed it in retrospect. They often came to similar conclusions: the roles needed to be clarified, the crisis organization needed to be improved, including the inclusion of science. And: The Epidemics Act would have to specify the transitions between the three situations – normal, special, extraordinary.
With the partial revision of the Epidemics Act, the Federal Council is including numerous points: cantons and parliament should be better involved in the future. In the transition phases from one situation to the other, they should work together to better define the “particular threat to public health”.
The preparations should also become more binding. Measures are specified – such as protection concepts, mask requirements, certificates or home office. The Federal Council is discussing whether financial support for companies should also be included or not.
Economy versus health
The questions about economic freedom and the protection of health competed with drastic protective measures during the phases. This should be avoided in the future. Also with the insight that an economy only works with healthy employees.
However, it would be wrong to base the Epidemics Act only on the “reality check” and therefore only on the experience of the corona pandemic. Because as surely as the next pandemic will come, it will not be as certain as it will be right away. For this reason, the revised Epidemics Act will better monitor infectious diseases – with wastewater measurements and, if necessary, gene sequencing.
The problem of increasing antibiotic resistance is addressed and OneHealth’s holistic approach, which focuses on the connections between the environment, animals and humans with a view to health. These are points that are crucial from a public health and scientific perspective in order not to stumble into the next pandemic unprepared. Whatever it may look like. This also shows that not all questions can be clarified in advance.