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Canton Ticino declares an emergency

The government council in corpore announced on Wednesday drastic measures to delay the spread of the coronavirus. Meanwhile, Italy is closing stores across the country.

Despite the drastic measures taken by the Ticino government, the borders to Italy remain open for the time being, said Federal President Simonetta Sommaruga in Bern.

Peter Klaunzer / Keystone

Federal President Simonetta Sommaruga spoke Italian: Yes, she understood the concerns of the Ticino population. Yes, she feels close to Ticino in this situation. The Federal Council is in daily contact with the government in Bellinzona, all measures are being examined. But the border to Italy remains open for the time being.

On Wednesday, the deputation of the national and state councils from Ticino met with the Federal President and the two Federal Councilors Berset and Maurer for a debate. In recent days, calls for border closures or other strong signs from the Confederation have been growing louder in large parts of the population of southern Switzerland.


Restriction of personal freedom

The Ticino government resigned a few hours after the meeting in Bern in corpore in front of the press and explained the in the Grossratssaal Emergency, inter alia on the basis of Article 40 of the Epidemic law. This allows the cantonal authorities to take drastic measures against the population. District President Christian Vitta said the government had decided unanimously: «We want to show presence together. As a sign that we take the legitimate concerns of the population seriously. »

He was aware that the measures restricted personal freedom, the mayor said. All cinemas, theaters, youth clubs, ski areas and discos will remain closed until March 29th. High schools or vocational schools also have to close. Classes in the compulsory schools continue. The idea is to distance children and older people from each other.

The head of the communicable diseases department at the Federal Office of Public Health (BAG), Daniel Koch, justified the decision in front of the press in Bellinzona together with the Cantonese doctor from Ticino: “We don’t want to take the risk that the children will be looked after by the grandparents.” The Ticino government recommends that people over the age of 65 do not look after children and do not use public transport.

Older people are particularly at risk of dying from coronavirus disease. At the weekend, the BAG changed the regime to combat the virus: the authorities have moved away from identifying the transmission chains. Rather, it is now a question of delaying the spread of the virus and thus protecting the health system. The Graubünden government, on the other hand, has not yet taken any measures for the Graubünden south valleys, although the Misox in particular is geographically part of Ticino.


Reflection of the Italian measures

Security director Norman Gobbi commented on the situation on the border with Italy. He asked the Federal Council to apply Article 41 of the Epidemic Act and to carry out health checks at the transitions. As of Wednesday evening, the Border Guard Corps first carried out so-called monitoring and no checks: it checked the information on the Italian one form, whereupon the inhabitants of the protection zone, that is, all those who live in Italy, must state the reason for their stay in public space.

The way to work is a possible authorization. Therefore they can frontalieri, the frontier workers, by. If you have no valid reason, the officials recommend turning back. There are no coercive measures. The Swiss authorities thus reflect the measures taken by the Italian government to unite the whole country zona protetta, a protected area. Similar to Switzerland, the government is still exercising its citizens’ responsibility.

In addition, the experts at the BAG consider epidemiologically pointless border controls. “There is no reduit against viruses,” said Patrick Mathys, Deputy Head of Communicable Diseases, on Wednesday in front of the media in Bern. Closing the borders is simply a massive intervention with limited effect. The Ticino economy depends heavily on the approximately 68,000 cross-border commuters. Around 4,000 of them work in the healthcare sector. On Sunday, the federal government provided a strong reason for the decision to keep the borders open: “This should ensure the continued existence of the Ticino health system.”

The authorities in Bern continue to try to be as sober as possible, even if the situation in Europe, but also in Switzerland, changes by leaps and bounds. On Wednesday evening, the World Health Organization (WHO) said the spread of the coronavirus was a pandemic. At the same time, the number of patients tested positive in Italy has risen to over 10,000. The Lombardy regional president urged Lombardy to be closed down: “Chiudiamo tutto” – “let’s close everything”.

If the government in Rome actually did so, this would have severe consequences for southern Switzerland: analogous to current practice, which reflects the Italian protection regime, the Confederation would actually have to close the borders in this case. The Swiss airline has already canceled all flights to Italy. Passenger trains also only cross the border to a very limited extent.

Late Wednesday evening, the Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte once again went before the media and announced further, drastic measures: All business must close. Only pharmacies and grocery stores are allowed to open. The situation in the Corona crisis remains unpredictable.

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