Switzerland tightened its measures against the coronavirus on Friday, banning gatherings of more than five people, but it has ruled out any confinement - a measure adopted by other European countries considering it to be "show politics" .
The government has released an additional 32 billion Swiss francs (30.4 billion euros) to support the economy. An envelope of 10 billion Swiss francs had already been announced a week ago. "Our economy is currently operating at around 80% of its capacity and we must do everything we can to maintain a sufficient level of activity , " said Minister of Economy Guy Parmelin during a press conference at Bern.
In Switzerland, a country bordering Italy, the Covid-19 killed 43 people. More than 4,800 people have tested positive so far, but Switzerland does not test all suspected cases due to a near-shortage of tests. "The number of people infected is increasing sharply in our country," said Minister of the Interior and Health Alain Berset to the media.
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Faced with the rapid progression of cases, the Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences (ASSM) on Friday published guidelines on decisions regarding the sorting of patients in intensive care units. In the event of an overload of capacities in intensive care, "the short-term prognosis is the decisive factor for triage" , indicates the SAMS, stressing that patients whose prognosis for discharge from the hospital is favorable with intensive care but unfavorable without this care, must have "absolute priority" .
After ordering the closure of schools, cafes, restaurants and shops other than food, health and essential and after banning all public and private demonstrations, the Swiss government on Friday banned rallies, including "spontaneous" , more than five people. Groups of more than five people are liable to a fine of 100 Swiss francs per person.
He refused, however, to confine the population, although some claim it as the association of young Swiss general practitioners. “What we do in the country today is very close to what the countries around us do. But the difference is that we are not doing show politics , ” said the Minister of the Interior, when asked about the containment measures taken by certain European countries.