Switzerland declares mask use in closed public places mandatory

The Swiss Federal Government announced on Sunday that the use of a mask in closed public places will become mandatory as of Monday, one of the measures to contain the “exponential” growth of the covid-19 pandemic in that country.

“In the last week, infections have doubled,” the growth in the number of cases is now “exponential”, said the president of the Swiss confederation, Simonetta Sommaruga, cited by the France Presse Agency (AFP).

In a press conference, the Federal Minister of Health, Alain Berset, revealed that the test’s positive index is around 15% and 16%.

Hundreds of people demonstrated this Sunday, in front of the Federal Palace in Bern, in opposition to this measure.

Also from Monday, gatherings with more than 15 people in public spaces are prohibited, and the use of a mask is also mandatory in stations, airports and bus and tram stops.

On the other hand, customers of clubs, bars or restaurants can only consume seated.

The Government also recommends teleworking.

Switzerland is the country in Europe where the disease progressed most rapidly in the past week (146%).

In the last two weeks, the infection rate was 230 people per 100 thousand inhabitants.

In total, the covid-19 pandemic killed 1,822 people in Switzerland as of Friday.

The covid-19 pandemic has already claimed more than 1.1 million deaths and almost 40 million cases of infection worldwide, according to a report by the French agency AFP.

The disease is transmitted by a new coronavirus detected in late December 2019 in Wuhan, a city in central China.

After Europe succeeded China as the center of the pandemic in February, the American continent is now the one with the most confirmed cases and the most deaths.

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