Switzerland decided Friday to ban at least until March 15 any public or private event bringing together more than 1,000 people to limit the transmission of the new coronavirus.
“Due to the current situation and the spread of the coronavirus, the Federal Council (Swiss government) has decided to declare the current situation in Switzerland of” special situation “within the meaning of the law on epidemics, and (… ) to ban public and private demonstrations bringing together more than 1,000 people simultaneously, “according to a government statement.
This ban takes effect immediately and will apply until March 15 at least.
“These measures have proven to be effective in other countries” and are in line with the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO), said Swiss Health Minister Alain Berset at a press conference.
“The situation is starting to elude them”
During events of less than 1,000 people, the organizers must, in collaboration with the authorities, assess the risks to determine whether or not they can organize the event.
“We have seen in recent days that cases have spread widely around the world (…), in particular in the neighboring countries of Switzerland, I am thinking in particular of Italy and Germany,” said M. Berset to journalists.
“Even if the authorities of these countries are doing everything to control the situation, they are starting to elude them,” he said.
Since Tuesday, Switzerland has also been affected by the Covid-19 epidemic. “This is not a surprise development”, and “we have 15 people tested positive,” said Berset.
“We should expect an increase in cases in the coming days,” he warned.
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