The first party of Switzerland, the UDC (populist right), called Thursday the closing of the borders vis-a-vis the pandemic of the new coronavirus, asking however that the foreign workforce present in the hospitals can remain.
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In a press release, the Central Democratic Union, whose posters with xenophobic hints are regularly controversial and which opposes the free movement between Switzerland and the EU, demanded " the protection of the population ". He asked the government to " immediately close " to human trafficking all borders with Switzerland's neighboring countries, including Italy and France.
The UDC estimates that the transport of goods can however be maintained with Switzerland, where more than 800 people were contaminated by the coronavirus and four died. And, he writes, " as regards the workforce essential for the proper functioning of public health, it will be a question of ensuring that these people can stay in Switzerland ".
Switzerland has a high proportion of foreign workers, notably French, among its hospital staff. The UDC is proposing to " install them in hotels that are currently empty ", due to the drop in tourist flows. The party also calls on the government to prepare emergency hospitals and military hospitals to accommodate a larger number of patients, and calls for an immediate end to hospital tourism, a very developed sector in Switzerland. The authorities must " reserve all hospital beds and all medical capacity for the inhabitants of Switzerland, " insisted the SVP.
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