Swiss Review 1/2021

Swiss Review / February 2021 / No.1 22 Society SUSANNE WENGER The first people in Switzerland will have received the Covid-19 vaccine by the time this edition of “Swiss Review” is published in February – a key step towards curbing the pandemic. But as I write before the festive season, the situ- ation looks bad. After surviving the first wave relatively un- scathed, Switzerland has unexpectedly become one of Eu- rope’s Covid hotspots in the secondwave. Seldomhas there been so much wrangling over what to do. This in Switzer- land, where everything ismeant to go like clockwork. How has it come to this? Time to reconstruct the events of recent months – in the knowledge that things will have changed again by the time we go to press. The emergency powers allowing the Federal Council to make unilateral decisions ended in early summer and the onus switched back to the cantons, not the government, to manage the crisis. Responsible for healthcare within Swit- zerland’s federal framework, the cantonswanted to resume control given the sharp fall in infections. The Federal Coun- cil took a back seat – even as Covid-19 rates began to surge again in October. With the curve initially steeper in some regions than others, the consensus was that local cantonal measures were better than national ones. Switzerland going its “own way” Infections rose dramatically, however, with daily newcases reaching a record of almost 10,000 at the start of Novem- ber. The Federal Council intervened at the end of October, announcing nationwide restrictions, e.g. an extension to the rule on face coverings and a ban on public events of over 50 people. More significantly, it decided against the type of partial lockdown already introduced by French-speaking cantonswith particularly high infection rates. Restaurants and shops were allowed to stay open, subject to limitations. Despite a comparatively high number of cases per 100,000 people, Switzerland’s response differed to that of neigh- bouring countries. HealthMinister Alain Berset (SP) said Switzerlandwas going its “ownway”. The Federal Council wanted to protect the population “without public life and the economy suf- fering unnecessary collateral damage”. Restaurant indus- try association GastroSuisse and the economiesuisse busi- ness federation signalled their relief. The authorities wanted to halve the number of cases every two weeks un- til Christmas – a strategy that worked initially as the curve dipped in November. Hospitals at breaking point Yet Switzerland could not extricate itself from the danger zone, not least because German-speaking cantons did lit- tle to combat the pandemic –much to the Federal Council’s dismay. Our small country of 26 cantons and half-cantons ended upwith a confusing, contradictory hotchpotch of re- strictions. Fatigue set in among the general public. By the start of December, infections had flatlined at a high level or were beginning to increase again in nearly every canton. Hospitals and care homes were feeling the strain. Inten- sive-care units were filling up. A disproportionately high number of elderly peoplewere dying of Covid-19, as the sec- ond wave left its tragic mark. Despite a world-class healthcare system, Switzerland’s coronavirus mortality rate was high compared to other countries. The majority of victims were over 80, said Finance Minister Ueli Maurer during a radio interview in mid-November. According toMaurer, the government had had to “weigh the various implications”. In protest at what How the pandemic spiralled out of control in Switzerland During the second Covid-19 wave, the Confederation and cantons long remained set on a middle course between shutting the economy and preventing the spread of the virus. They failed to bring the situation under control. An abnormally high number of elderly people died. Finance Minister Ueli Maurer – weighing the various implications Health Minister Alain Berset – Switzerland going its “own way” President of the Swiss Confederation Simonetta Sommaruga Photos: Keystone