Wearing a mask will not be compulsory either on public transport or on school transport in Switzerland. Confederation President Simonetta Sommaruga confirmed this on Wednesday. “There will be no obligation and it will be valid for all forms of travel, including school buses”, she announced after learning about the protection plan being developed in the sector public transport.
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The development of this concept is anything but simple. Simonetta Sommaruga admits that “demarcation problems are not easy to solve”. She will have a new session with the representatives of the branch this Thursday morning. The health protection strategy in public transport will be made public at the start of the afternoon by the boss of SBB, Vincent Ducrot, and his PostBus colleague, Christian Plüss.
Use the mask correctly
One of the delicate points is the question of the mask. The plan will contain a recommendation for face protection in situations where the two-meter distance rule between two people cannot be respected. This is particularly the case during rush hour, as the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) already reported last week. However, the criteria and controls are not easy to define. Discussions also come up against the elimination of masks after use.
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Children going to school will also be under no obligation to cover their nose and mouth on a school bus or train. OFSP delegate to Covid-19, Daniel Koch explains why: “Children should only wear a mask if they are able to put it on and take it off themselves and use it properly.”
Reservations required?
The plan will contain protection rules for support staff. Another measure included in this system is the compulsory seat reservation. Very common in international traffic, this principle is hardly popular in Switzerland. It should only be designed as a measure of last resort.
The issue of cable transport – cable cars, gondolas, funiculars – will be settled later. The Federal Council will vote on May 27 on this subject, which is directly linked to the revival of mountain tourism.
Kisses and handshakes will wait
The concept on public transport will be added to those that have already been developed. They concern DIY and gardening stores, services involving physical contact with customers, self-service establishments (solariums, car washes) and burials. The association Commerce Switzerland presented its side the sanitary rules valid in stores. These concepts are in principle applicable in companies, but they remain fairly general and are not immune to divergent interpretations from one place to another.
The OFSP also published new rules of sanitary conduct on Wednesday. He recommends wearing a mask when contacting vulnerable people. However, he advises to wait before rehabilitating the fraternal handshake and blowing the wind again on both cheeks.
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