by Sascha Frommherz
On March 17th Switzerland closed all its land borders. The measure was taken by the Swiss government to try and curb the spread of Covid-19. Switzerland has over 2000 suspected case, 1563 of which are positive, according to the Federal Office of Health (BAG). This has led to the implementation of drastic measures since the first cases were recorded in February 2020.
Major events such as international watch and jewellery fair Baselworld are cancelled until further notice. On March 13th schools and universities nationwide were closed. All sports events have cancelled until further notice.
Marco Hasler, 39 from Zuzgen, Marketing Manager for watch company Jacques du Manoir says this is done as a preventative measure “to avoid personal contact”.
The Federal Office of Transportation (BAV) has also put restrictions on public transport. It has encouraged people to avoid using it whenever possible. How the lock down will affect public transportation is not yet clear.
Public service and transportation of goods are to be kept up. There will be limitations regarding travel for tourists and the cancelation of onboard food services.
To avoid personal contact and travel by public transport, many employers have instructed their staff to work from home.
Max Zurlino, 29, from Basel, who would under normal circumstances commute to work, says that home office will have “close to no effect” on his work. He says that travelling with public transport in this situation “does not feel safe”.
The Swiss Army has mobilized 8000 men of its medical division to support hospitals and set up temporary medical centres. It has been the biggest mobilization since World War 2.
On March 17th Switzerland effectively went into lock down for a month. It is not yet clear how far these measures will affect the country. Switzerland’s borders are scheduled to open again on April 30th.
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