Corona virus: This applies from April 1, 2022 in Switzerland

As of this Friday, April 1, 2022, the last measures in the Covid 19 Regulation Special Situation are repealed. These include the obligation to isolate infected persons and the obligation to wear masks in public transport and health facilities. This marks a return to the normal situation, and the main responsibility for measures to protect the population now rests with the cantons.

Thanks to the high immunization of the population, there has been no marked increase in the number of Covid 19 patients in intensive care units in recent weeks, according to a statement by the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), although the number of infections has risen again in the meantime. Therefore, there is little likelihood of a public health threat in the coming months, he said. However, the further course of the Covid-19 pandemic cannot be reliably estimated. The Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus will most likely not disappear but become endemic, the FOPH writes. It is to be expected that there will also be seasonal waves of disease in the future.

Transition phase until spring 2023

The Confederation and the cantons are therefore now planning a transition phase until spring 2023, during which increased vigilance and responsiveness will remain necessary. Structures must be maintained to the extent that the cantons and the federal government can react quickly to new developments. This applies in particular to testing, vaccination, contact tracing, surveillance and the obligation of hospitals to report.

Back to the normal division of tasks between the federal government and the cantons

With the change to the normal situation, most of the tasks in the management of the Covid 19 pandemic will return to the main responsibility of the cantons, as provided for in the Epidemics Act; in principle, the cantons will continue to be responsible for ordering measures to combat communicable diseases and coordinating them among themselves. The Confederation has drawn up a basic paper on this subject, which sets out the objectives and the distribution of tasks in the transitional phase. It is in consultation with the cantons, the social partners and the parliamentary commissions until April 22, 2022.

SwissCovid app is temporarily deactivated

The Federal Council has also decided to temporarily deactivate the SwissCovid app. With the lifting of the isolation requirement, the conditions for effective continuation of the app no longer exist. However, operation of the SwissCovid app can be resumed quickly if the epidemiological situation so requires. Therefore, the necessary informatics infrastructures will continue to be maintained in the background. The user data located on the federal government's systems will be destroyed.

Adjustments in the Covid 19 Regulation 3

The Federal Council also approved several adjustments to Covid 19 Regulation 3. These include the discontinuation of reimbursement for repetitive testing in camps and the facilitation of access to medicines for certain severely immunosuppressed individuals.

Source: BAG