The Swiss vote Sunday on the Covid-19 law which made it possible to create the health pass, at the end of a stormy electoral campaign, causing the police to fear new demonstrations during the day.
This referendum comes as the new Omicron variant, detected in South Africa and described as "
worrying
" by the World Health Organization, has plunged the planet into a state of alert.
Read alsoCovid-19: the presence of the Omicron variant is confirmed in Europe
A sign of unusual tensions in Switzerland, police blocked the square in front of the seat of government and parliament in Bern on Sunday, in anticipation of the protests.
According to polls, however, the population should accept the law even if opponents have been able to make their voices heard in recent weeks by organizing numerous demonstrations, sometimes banned and punctuated by violence.
However, we remain far from the real riots in the Netherlands or Guadeloupe.
But the rise of tensions in Switzerland, a country renowned for its culture of dialogue and compromise and where referendums are organized several times a year in a peaceful atmosphere, had the effect of an electric shock.
Many politicians, including the Minister of Health Alain Berset, who for two years has come to embody the fight against Covid in the Alpine country, have been threatened with death and are now placed under police protection.
The Swiss also vote Sunday on a popular initiative on nursing care which calls on the Confederation to guarantee "
appropriate remuneration
" for care services.
The votes come as Switzerland, like other countries, has experienced an outbreak of infections since mid-October due to the Delta variant.
But unlike other countries in the same case, the government has so far refused to toughen national control measures, arguing that the occupancy of intensive care beds by Covid patients was relatively low at this time. day (20%).
“
The situation is under control for the moment.
If the cases were to increase exponentially, we would have to adapt as we go
, ”Alain Berset said at a press conference on Wednesday.
The government, however, urged the cantons to take action and called on the population to respect basic health measures.
With a rate of fully vaccinated people of around 65%, Switzerland lags behind in vaccination coverage compared to other countries in Western Europe.