The Swiss population is looking forward to April 26th: The Federal Council announced that the lockdown could then be relaxed. The Avenir Suisse think tank outlines what this might look like in a new publication. The idea: a gradual reopening.
The liberal think tank’s corona exit schedule focuses on six areas, including the economy, digitalization and politics. The following examples from the publication show the enormous impact that lockdown has had on the economy so far: Unemployment rose from 2.5 percent to 2.9 percent in March alone. The number of registered unemployed increases by 1900 per working day. In order for the economy to recover as quickly as possible, Avenir Suisse recommends:
“Any operational activities that are in accordance with the BAG hygiene rules should generally be considered permitted.”
This would allow stores to be reopened if the BAG recommendations on social distancing, disinfection and the “drop inlet” system are followed. The same applies to markets, restaurants, cafes and bars.
Schools should also be gradually reopened. The age of the students and their ability to organize themselves should be taken into account.
At the same time, the think tank makes the recommendation that “for all activities for which work in the home office is possible, the return to normal operation should be avoided on a voluntary basis.”
However, home office is only possible in a few industries for the majority of employees, says Avenir Suisse. The think tank notes: «In the credit and insurance industries and in IT, working in the home office is quite possible for a large proportion of the workforce. In agriculture and the hospitality industry, only a few employees can work in their home office. »
Home office is also rather difficult in health and social work, in construction, in transport and storage. The home office ditch is clearly visible in the following figure:
But digital activities – such as home offices – rely on a functioning and efficient infrastructure in the background. Avenir Suisse sees a need for action here at the federal, cantonal and communal levels as well as in state-run companies. Especially at the beginning of the lockdown – when many companies switched to home offices – the Swisscom telecommunications network in Switzerland also came to a stop. The situation has now been alleviated, but the networks are still under heavy load. The Corona Exit timetable therefore says: “This shows that network expansion must remain a priority in the future. The federal authorities should create clear framework conditions, particularly in the implementation provisions for the new 5G mobile communications standard. Without such federal guard rails, the new technology can only be introduced with a delay. »
According to Avenir Suisse, political activities should also be recorded through the digital transformation, e-voting is recommended: “The suspension of the referendum on May 17, 2020 by the Federal Council impressively shows the importance of e-voting for a functioning direct democracy.”
(qll)
– .
