Federal Council: gradual relaxation of measures

The protection of the public and employees must be taken into account in this Loosening of measures must be ensured. This was decided by the Federal Council at its meeting on April 16. If the situation allows, compulsory schools and stores are to reopen on May 11. Then, on June 8, secondary, vocational and higher education institutions, as well as museums, zoos and libraries are to reopen. The Federal Council has also specified the protection of particularly vulnerable employees.

Due to the epidemic development and based on recommendations from the scientific community, the Federal Council is relaxing the measures to protect the population from the new coronavirus as of April 27. In order to create planning certainty, it also announces how it plans the further relaxation steps until the beginning of June.

For the order of the relaxations, the Federal Council took several risk factors into account. These include the increase in close personal contacts, the increase in flows of persons, the number of vulnerable persons affected or the possibility of taking protective measures. In addition, the Federal Council assessed the economic benefits of the individual relaxations.

Protection of health and reduction of economic damage
The Federal Council is pursuing several objectives with the relaxation strategy: It wants to continue to protect the health of the Swiss population as its first priority, especially the Particularly vulnerable persons. The relaxations are accompanied by protection concepts. Depending on the industry, these may include a recommendation or obligation to wear masks. The Federal Council also wants to keep economic damage to a minimum and reduce restrictions on fundamental rights where possible. The strategy is to be implemented uniformly throughout Switzerland, taking into account the measures of neighboring countries.

First stage on April 27, 2020
In the first stage, the Federal Council will relax the measures from April 27 for facilities that have only a small number of direct contacts, can easily implement protection concepts and do not cause significant flows of people. Measures in the inpatient medical sector will be relaxed, and hospitals will once again be allowed to perform all procedures. Similarly, outpatient medical practices can resume normal operations and perform all procedures, including non-urgent ones. These include dental, physiotherapy and medical massage practices. This is also intended to prevent negative consequences that could result from not providing treatments and examinations.

Businesses offering personal services with physical contact can also reopen, for example hairdressing salons, massage practices, tattoo studios and beauty salons. Home improvement and gardening stores, as well as nurseries and flower stores, will also be able to reopen. In addition, unattended public facilities such as car washes will also be able to reopen. Finally, the restriction to close family members at funerals will be lifted.

In addition, as of April 27, the assortment restrictions in grocery stores will be lifted. If everyday goods and other goods are on the sales floor of grocery stores, they may be sold.

Second and third stage: May 11 and June 8, 2020
In the second stage, compulsory schools as well as stores and markets are to reopen from May 11. The Federal Council will make its decision on April 29. In a third stage on June 8, secondary schools, vocational colleges and universities are to be allowed to hold face-to-face events again. At the same time, entertainment and leisure facilities such as museums, libraries, botanical gardens and zoos are to reopen and the ban on public gatherings is to be relaxed. The Federal Council plans to decide on the details of this stage on May 27. The Federal Council has not yet taken any decisions on further stages. It will decide at one of its next meetings when major events will be possible again.

Stages depending on the development of the epidemic
The transition from one stage to the next occurs when there has been no significant increase in COVID-19 cases. Sufficient time must elapse between the individual steps to be able to observe the effects of the relaxations. Criteria are the number of new infections, hospital admissions and deaths, and hospital occupancy rates.

As soon as the number of cases in Switzerland has fallen sufficiently, the cantons will resume consistent tracing of infection chains: infected persons are to be detected, treated and isolated at an early stage, the transmission chains elicited and further transmissions prevented. To this end, an expanded testing strategy, a contact tracing concept, and an app that provides information about contacts with infected persons are being developed. The measures for keeping distance and hygiene remain valid and important. Particularly vulnerable persons should continue to stay at home.

Protection of employees at particular risk
With the gradual opening of certain services and companies, particularly vulnerable employees are to be comprehensively protected. The Federal Council has therefore specified the definition of particularly vulnerable persons and the protective measures.

The employer has a duty to protect persons at particular risk from work from home if necessary, by providing appropriate substitute work. If the presence on site is indispensable, the employer must protect the person concerned by adapting the procedures or the workplace accordingly. A person at particular risk may refuse to work if he or she considers the health risks to be too high. If it is not possible to perform work at home or on site, the employer must release the person with continued pay. The employer may request a medical certificate showing why an employed person belongs to a particularly vulnerable group of persons.

Due to the epidemiological situation, the Federal Council has authorized the canton of Ticino to extend the restrictions on economic sectors until April 26.

Source: Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH)