Switzerland scraps Covid restrictions: ‘The acute phase of the crisis is over’

One European country has opted to completely scrap isolation periods for Covid-positive residents and drop mask rules, despite recording 16,462 new cases yesterday.

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND - JUNE 14: People relax along the beach on Lake Geneva, next to a Covid informational sign near Villa La Grange, the property that is to host the upcoming summit between U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin, on June 14, 2021 in Geneva, Switzerland. The two leaders are scheduled to meet at in Geneva on June 16 for a one-day summit. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Switzerland has opted to scrap its last remaining coronavirus restrictions - declaring the “acute phase of the crisis is over”.

As of Friday local time, face masks will no longer be mandatory on public transport and in health facilities, while those who test positive to Covid won’t need to isolate at all.

The move comes as infection rates in the European nation of 8.5 million slowly begin to dip, with 14,462 new Covid cases recorded on Thursday, down 37 per cent from the same time last week.

Of those new cases, 165 were admitted to hospitals for treatment, with Covid-positive patients occupying 17.4% of intensive care beds.

Current vaccination figures indicate 70.13 per cent of the nation is fully vaccinated, with that number barely moving since July 2021.

Switzerland has scrapped all of its remaining coronavirus restrictions.

16,462 new cases of the coronavirus were reported in Switzerland on Thursday, down by 37 per cent over the past week.

“The assessment of the situation is positive. Infections are falling in all age categories. The situation in intensive care is stable; an overload of hospital capacities seems unlikely,” Switzerland’s Interior Minister Alain Berset told reporters in Bern.

“Those who would still like to wear a mask must be able to do so. You must have tolerance and respect.”

“We can’t say that the crisis is over, but we can certainly say that the acute phase of the crisis is over.”

Mr Berset said Switzerland’s health authorities had acquired enough vaccines to cover the entire population in 2022 and 2023 if required.

Roughly 3.48 million people – or 41% of the population – have tested positive to the virus since it first arrived in the landlocked nation in February 2020.

Official figures report around 13,000 deaths over the previous two years.

The development came after The World Health Organisation released an updated plan for the future of fighting Covid.

“Based on what we know now, the most likely scenario is that the COVID-19 virus continues to evolve, but the severity of disease it causes reduces over time as immunity increases due to vaccination and infection,” Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a briefing on Wednesday.

The headquarters of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland. The WHO believes the virus will now begin to recede as ‘immunity increases due to vaccination and infection’.