Follow us or the Bunny gets it. No
Bunny gets it

Subscribe for newsletter


Follow us in Twitter



Gold standard and monetary metals:


Subscribe for browser push notifications

Tag Archive: Editor’s Choice

Swiss Unemployment Continues to Fall in May

2021-06-10

by

2021-06-10

By the end of May 2021, the percentage of Switzerland’s workforce registered as out of work had fallen to 3.1%, down from 3.3% in April 2021. The figures are based on those registered as unemployed at regional employment centres and exclude many of those that have been out of for more than two years and have exhausted their rights to collect unemployment benefits.

Read More »

Switzerland clears Covid-19 vaccine for 12 to 15 year-olds

2021-06-09

by

2021-06-09

On 4 June 2021, Swissmedic, Switzerland’s drug approval authority, announced it was extending authorisation of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to 12-15 year olds. The vaccine, also known under the brand name Comirnaty®, has had temporary ordinary authorisation for use in Switzerland on people aged 16 or over since 19 December 2020.

Read More »

Swiss pesticide votes – pesticides, antibiotics, gut bacteria, hormones and disease

2021-06-08

by

2021-06-08

As we move through time scientific research improves our understanding of the world. The resulting revelations often point to changes that could lead to progress. However, these changes are rarely painless. Shifting away from the use of antibiotics on livestock and the agricultural use of pesticides are not small adjustments.

Read More »

Covid: how is Switzerland going on vaccinations?

2021-06-03

by

2021-06-03

On 23 December 2021, a 90-year old resident of Luzern, was the first person in Switzerland to be vaccinated against Covid-19. In the roughly 5 months since then, more than 3 million people in Switzerland have received at least one dose of vaccine, representing around 36% of the population.

Read More »

Covid: new cases down 28% in Switzerland this week

2021-05-30

by

2021-05-30

This week, 5,670 new Covid-19 cases were recorded in Switzerland, down 28% from the week before (7,843), continuing the downward trend of new numbers of recorded infections. The daily number of cases on a 7-day rolling average has more than halved (-58%) in 4 weeks falling from 1,924 to 810.

Read More »

Covid: UK now on Swiss risk list

2021-05-28

by

2021-05-28

On 27 May 2021, the UK was added Switzerland’s list of risk countries. This means that anyone arriving in Switzerland from the UK from 6pm on Thursday must quarantine upon arrival, with a few exceptions. The UK was added to the Federal Office of Public Health’s (FOPH) list of countries with a worrying variant, alongside Brazil, Canada, India, Nepal and South Africa.

Read More »

Only vaccinated to get Covid certificates before end June in Switzerland

2021-05-18

by

2021-05-18

chaiyan-anuwatmongkonchai
Initially, in Switzerland, only those who have been vaccinated will get a Covid certificate. Those who have received a negative test result or have been infected and recovered will have to wait, according to a report in the TagesAnzeiger. This information was later confirmed by the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), according to RTS.

Read More »

Organic farming continues to gain ground in Switzerland

2021-05-16

by

2021-05-16

Switzerland continues to shift towards organic farming. Between 2000 and 2020, the number of organic farms has risen by 54%. In 2020, the number rose 3.8%. Organic farms now make up 15.3% of total farms in Switzerland, up from 6.9% 20 years ago. In 2000, there were 4,902 organic farms. By 2020, the number had risen 54% to 7,561.

Read More »

Covid: vaccination of 12 to 15 year olds on the horizon in Switzerland

2021-05-14

by

2021-05-14

Covid Vaccination
Those with teenagers wishing for the greater travel freedom likely to come with proof of vaccination may have cause for hope. On 7 May 2021, Pfizer submitted an authorisation application to Swissmedic, Switzerland’s drug approval agency, for use of its vaccine against Covid-19 on those aged 12 to 15 years old.

Read More »

Latest poll shows majority support for Swiss anti-pesticide votes

2021-05-07

by

2021-05-07

With five weeks to go before Swiss vote on two initiatives aimed at drastically cutting the use of pesticides, more than 50% appear to be in favour of both initiatives, according to RTS. © Dusan Kostic | Dreamstime.comOne of these initiatives, the clean drinking water initiative, aims to tie access to Switzerland’s generous farm subsidies to forgoing pesticide (and antibiotic) use. The second aims to ban the use of synthetic pesticide use...

Read More »

Covid: new cases trend down with vaccine progress

2021-05-07

by

2021-05-07

This week, saw 10,639 new Covid-19 cases in Switzerland, down 21% from a week before (13,465) continuing the slow down in growth of new numbers experienced last week (-5%). The 7-day average is currently 1,519.

Read More »

Swiss consumer sentiment nearly back to pre-crisis level

2021-05-07

by

2021-05-07

Consumer sentiment among Swiss households is improving, according to Switzerland’s economic affairs office (SECO). © Rosaria De Marco | Dreamstime.comIn April 2021, the consumer sentiment index climbed back to -7 points after reaching a low of -40 in early 2020. The level of -7 is close to the pre-crisis level of early 2020 and close to its long term average of -5. The primary reason for the rise in consumer sentiment is a...

Read More »

Covid: 13,465 new cases in Switzerland this week

2021-05-02

by

2021-05-02

This week, saw 13,465 new Covid-19 cases in Switzerland, down 5% from a week before (14,110) continuing the 5% slow down in growth of new numbers experienced last week. © Andrii Kozlytskyi | Dreamstime.comThe 7-day average is currently 1,924, dipping below the level of 2,000 for the first time since 11 April 2021. By 30 April 2021, 10.8% of Switzerland’s population was fully vaccinated, up from 9.6% a week earlier. This week, the...

Read More »

Covid: the 3 phases of Switzerland’s return to normal

2021-04-24

by

2021-04-24

This week, Switzerland’s government set out the three phases of its plan to return to normal at a press conference recorded by RTS. The first is the protection phase, which we are currently in. This involves vaccinating the vulnerable and could last until the end of May 2021.

Read More »

Covid: 80 percent of nation must be immunised to stop spread, says Swiss health minister

2021-04-23

by

2021-04-23

This week, Alain Berset, Switzerland’s health minister said that 80% of the population must be immunised for the virus to stop spreading, according to RTS. Vaccination against the SARS-CoV-2 virus is voluntary in Switzerland.

Read More »

IMF praises Switzerland’s economic response to the pandemic

2021-04-10

by

2021-04-10

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Switzerland has economically navigated the Covid-19 pandemic well so far. In 2020, the Swiss economy shrank by 2.9%, far less than many other advanced European economies. France (-8.2%), Germany (-4.9%), Italy (-8.9%) and the UK (-9.9%) all performed far worse.

Read More »

France asks Switzerland for help with Covid patients

2021-04-09

by

2021-04-09

The French region of Bourgogne-Franche Comté has contacted several Swiss cantons and asked them if they would take Covid patients, according to RTS. Jacques Gerber, the minister of health in the canton of Jura told RTS that there had been a request from France to prepare in case French hospitals become overloaded.

Read More »

Swiss upper house votes to raise pension age for women

2021-03-21

by

2021-03-21

As Switzerland’s population ages the number of people paid state pension is rising relative to the number of workers funding it. Since 2014, more has been paid out than has been paid in. The most effective way to fix this imbalance is to raise the pension age. If the average life expectancy of a retiree is 15 years, then raising the pension age by one year will cut the cost by nearly 7%.

Read More »

Flu deaths surprisingly rare in Switzerland

2021-03-15

by

2021-03-15

Sometimes comparisons are drawn between the seasonal flu and Covid-19. But how many die from the seasonal flu in a typical year? According to Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office, surprisingly few.

Read More »

Switzerland’s low-income earners hit far harder despite lower Covid-19 infection rates

2021-02-28

by

2021-02-28

The economic impact of the Covid-​19 pandemic has hit low-income households far harder than those on high incomes, according to a study published by the KOF Swiss Economic Institute at ETH Zurich.

Read More »