Pandemic Products

Switzerland has closed schools throughout the country and imposed a ban on public gatherings of more than 100 people. Bars and restaurants are limited to 50 guests while the government pledged CHF10 billion ($10.6 billion) in emergency aid to support the economy. The package of measures was announced by government ministers on Friday. The ban on gatherings will last until at least the end of April while schools will be closed until April 4. The border with Italy will remain open but further restrictions will be applied. Furthermore, border controls with other European countries may be tightened with a suspension of the Schengen Agreement on a case-by-case basis. Switzerland is not a member state of the European Union but is included in the Schengen zone. The CHF10 billion aid package is aimed at helping companies survive the economic downturn caused by coronavirus. Most of the money (CHF8 million) has been earmarked to fund the imposition of short-time work at firms while other …

Switzerland’s Supreme Court has overturned the acquittal of two Islamic Central Council of Switzerland (ICCS) leaders accused of terrorist propaganda.   Islamic council president Nicolas Blancho and its spokesman Qassim Illi were accused of broadcasting propaganda videos in support of the terrorist group al-Qaeda. But they were acquitted in 2018 by the Federal Criminal Court on a technicality. The author of the films, Naïm Cherni, was given a 20-month suspended prison sentence.    In its decision released on Friday the Supreme Court confirmed the lower court’s verdict on Cherni, but overturned the acquittals of Blancho and Illi, saying the lower court had erred through “excessive formalism”. It referred them back to the Federal Criminal Court which will now have to reopen the case.   The men were charged in relation to an interview by Cherni in Syria in 2015 with a leading member of the banned terrorist organisation al-Qaeda. Films of the interview were subsequently used as …

The percentage of women on executive boards of Switzerland’s largest 100 employers has – for the first time – reached 10%, a report has found.  According to an annual survey by the Schilling human resource consultancy, companies appointed a woman to every fifth (21%) seat that became vacant on management boards (up from 18% in 2019’s report).   Most women were appointed internally: 61% which exceeded the percentage of men recruited internally (59%). This showed an “encouraging” focus on talent development, the report said.  But despite the rise in appointments, only just over half (53%) of the companies actually had women on their executive boards.   “There is still a need for a clear commitment on the part of executive and supervisory boards,” said the report.  The public sector was again found to be leading the way with the percentage of women employed as top executives reaching 20% for the first time.   The greater gender diversity in the public sector is due to …

A Swiss cheesemaker was crowned champion at the biennial World Championship Cheese Contest held in Madison, Wisconsin.   Michael Spycher of Mountain Dairy Fritzenhaus in the Swiss canton of Bern clinched the top prize on Thursday. The judges scored his creation, a Gourmino Le Gruyère AOP cheese, 98.81 points out of a maximum of 100 in the final round. This is Spycher’s second title as the maker of the world’s best cheese. He first clinched the title in 2008.   Second place was also taken by a Swiss cheesemaker from the northeastern Swiss canton of St Gallen, for a Gallus Grand Cru cheese. The third spot went to a Gouda cheese from the Netherlands.   The jury had to assess the merits of 3,667 cheeses in more than 100 categories. The 20 best cheeses from all categories made it to the final. Swiss cheeses distinguished themselves in many categories, winning a total of seven gold, ten silver and seven bronze medals.  Last year was good for Swiss cheese exports. In total, …

The Swiss government has shifted its focus in the fight against the coronavirus to protecting those most vulnerable. The army will also be available to give cantons support.  The move comes one day after the first death from the virus was announced, that of a 74-year-old woman in canton Vaud who suffered from additional health problems.  + First coronavirus death recorded in Switzerland “The focus is on protecting the health of particularly vulnerable people,” the government said in a statement on Friday, released after a government meeting. “The aim is to prevent serious illnesses and deaths as well as avoiding overloading health facilities.”  Those considered vulnerable as defined as over 65 and those suffering from medical conditions such as diabetes, cancer or who have weakened immune systems.  Until now, the main goal of the Swiss effort was to identify people as early as possible, track the path of transmission and stop further transmission. The number of cases …

A 60-year-old Thai woman, who was trafficking sex workers to Swiss brothels will have to serve ten and a half years in prison. The Bernese cantonal court confirmed the sentence on Friday. The accused was found guilty of human trafficking, promoting prostitution and other crimes. The cantonal court also imposed a daily penalty of CHF30 ($32) for 260 days or CHF7,800.  The decision can still be challenged before the Federal Court. The woman brought dozens of compatriots from poorer parts of Thailand to Switzerland, charging them exorbitant fees for travel and accommodation. The indictment at the first trial in 2018 reported 88 exploited women and transsexuals. At the time, the lower court had convicted the woman of human trafficking in 75 cases, prostitution in 29 cases, incitement to illegal entry and residence in 86 cases, and money laundering of at least CHF120,000. In some cases, however, the Thai woman was acquitted because the evidence was deemed insufficient. The offences …

Four Swiss nationals are on board the Grand Princess cruise ship that was barred from docking in San Francisco due to the coronavirus.  The Swiss consulate in San Francisco is in contact with the local authorities, who have confirmed to the foreign ministry that four Swiss are on the liner. The foreign ministry tweeted the news on Saturday: Samples were taken from 46 people on Thursday and 21 of them – 19 crew and two passengers – tested positive for the coronavirus, said US Vice-President Mike Pence on Friday at a press conference.  Pence, who is running the White House’s response to the outbreak, said the vessel with about 3,500 passengers and crew would be taken to a non-commercial port where everyone on board would be tested.  One of the Swiss on board, a 55-year-old man, told Swiss newspaper Blick on Saturday that everyone had to stay in their cabins. “It’s like a ghost ship. It’s spooky!” he said.  The man said anyone showing symptoms had to say so, but his family were …

The Swiss government is working on directing support to companies hit by falling demand caused by the coronavirus outbreak and will not adopt a broad stimulus programme.  “For us it is important that we don’t have some kind of helicopter money, subsidies or an economic programme that works only in the long term, not the short term,” Marie-Gabrielle Ineichen-Fleisch, director of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), told Swiss public radio, SRF, on Saturday.  SECO coordinates economic and labour market policy for the government.  Government subsidies paid to staff put on short working hours by their employers have been shown to be an effective economic stabiliser, she said.  The government was also looking to target support at companies such as event managers which are likely to be hit by government restrictions including a temporary ban on events which draw more than 1,000 people.  Central bank  Ineichen-Fleisch said supply chains were still functioning and …

As temperatures continue to break records and shade-free parts of cities become increasingly unpleasant during searing summers, scientists in Zurich have developed a simulation program that can predict which pavement and which type of vegetation could help.  Münsterhof is the largest square in Zurich’s old town. Located in front of the Fraumünster church, the square is covered by cobblestones and concrete. There are some cafés and seats but no trees that would provide shade. What’s more, it is surrounded on almost all sides by buildings which absorb the heat of the sun.  City residents – that is, half the world’s population – know the feeling well: in summer, city centres turn into ovens. These are so-called urban heat islands, a phenomenon linked to the density of asphalt surfaces and buildings and to the heat generated by vehicles, industry and heating systems or air conditioning. Last summer Bernese artist Heinrich Gartentor covered Münsterhof with a meadow. Two shady willows …

A fire broke out at the Swiss-run One Happy Family community centre on the Greek island of Lesbos on Saturday evening. Property was damaged but no one was injured. The cause of the fire remains unknown.  The centre is located not far from the Kara Tepe refugee camp, where around 1,500 refugees and migrants live, including many children and families.  Fabian Bracher of the One Happy Family association, based in Bergdorf, canton Bern, told the Swiss News Agency Keystone-SDA that the material damage caused by the fire was considerable. The fire has since been extinguished, but the fire brigade and police are still on site.  The One Happy Family centre is used as a meeting place for refugees, with hundreds of people taking advantage of what’s on offer every day, including school lessons, a hairdresser, a café and a library.  In recent weeks there have been repeated acts of violence by right-wing groups on Lesbos, which is just a few kilometres from the Turkish coast, and fires have …