Swiss Review 5/2020

Swiss Review / September 2020 / No.5 5 I am totally against the introduction of paternity leave. If they want extra time to care for their children, fathers should take holiday leave, or, if they can, accumulate overtime hours dur- ing themonths that precede the birth. Anyway, a working day only lasts eight hours. That still leaves plenty of time for fathers to take over from the mother and look after the baby. CLAUDE-ALAIN GUYOT, CIREY, FRANCE Switzerland is stuck in the Middle Ages when it comes to fam- ily support. Even ten days of statutory leave is a pathetic amount. It should be six months of leave for the two parents, consisting of at least 16 weeks of leave for the mother. Funnily enough, opponents of this measly proposal are the same peo- ple who are willing to harm the economy so that men aged be- tween 25 and 40 can march around in circles and drink beer at the taxpayer’s expense for three to four weeks EACH YEAR on those ridiculous military refresher courses. It appears that these people care little about the massive hit that employers have to take for something that has no national security rele- vance whatsoever. MATTHIEU HÖSLI, FRANCE The “limitation initiative” and Switzerland’s relationship with the EU Aside from the fact that Switzerlandwill benefit economically from a closer relationship with the EU as globalisation inten- sifies, a politically strong, peaceful Europe is also verymuch in Switzerland’s interests. CHRISTOPH TWERENBOLD, COLOGNE, GERMANY After selling off the big industries and becoming a service pro- vider and acting zoo for the world, the people should see this is the wrong path. All these left-wing habits are poison for the country. Go back to what you were, an innovative, thriving, well educated people. Stop degrading your education system. Start creating and inventing again. The world is big, the EU is small and damaged by itself. ULRICH HALTINER, DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Preserving Switzerland’s neutrality is an absolutemust. Hence making a reasonable contribution to the EU for co-operation and to fit the greater goodwould be desirable. To be bullied into a system of less flexibility would be a mistake. After all a rela- tionship between partners can work very well, no need to be married. KURT FEHLMANN, HERVEY BAY, QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA The corona pandemic in Switzerland The Federal Council started lifting coronavirus restrictions in Switzerland at the end of April, before ending the lock- down at the beginning of June. However, the number of new infections rose again as society reopened. Protectivemeas- ures were consequently reinforced at the beginning of July. Apart from new nationwide rules such as mandatory face masks on public transport, additional restrictions apply in some cantons. Here are the key points in our COVID-19 timeline: 6 June 2020: Significant easing of the lockdown For many, 6 June marks a tentative return to everyday life. All educational establishments are allowed to open, as are swimming pools, zoos, botanic gardens, theatres, cinemas, restaurants, bars, and mountain railways. 21 June 2020: Relaxation has serious consequences People becomemore relaxed. Partygoers promptly become the first superspreaders. Infection clusters are also traced to holidaymakers who have returned from countries such as Serbia. 30 June 2020: Infections rise At the end of June, the daily number of newCOVID-19 cases returns to three-digit territory for the first time since just before the lockdown in March 2020. 6 July 2020: Mandatory face masks on public transport In view of the growing infection rate, Switzerland makes face masks mandatory on all forms of public transport. 8 August 2020: Back from holiday and into quarantine Due to people coming home from holiday infected with COVID-19, anyone returning from a country that is on the list of destinations with a high risk of infection must now spend ten days in quarantine. After being updated on 8 Au- gust, this list comprises 42 European and non-European destinations. Current list of destinations: www.ogy.de/mandatory-quarantine A comprehensive timeline from April 2020 is available at www.revue.ch.