Referendum: Swiss majority in favor of corona measures

The introduction of a Covid certificate in Switzerland has been causing heated emotions for weeks. Now the government has put it to the vote – and has received clear approval from the population.

In a referendum, according to an extrapolation, the Swiss voted with a clear majority in favor of receiving the Covid certificate. Around 63 percent of voters want to hold on to the measure, according to a forecast by the survey institute gfs.bern on behalf of the public broadcaster SRF. With the Covid certificate, owners must show their vaccination, recovery or a negative test before they can visit a pub or event.

The referendum on Sunday was considered a yardstick for the public attitude to the Swiss requirements in the fight against the virus, which is rampant in Europe as in no other region of the world. The government in Bern had campaigned for approval of the amended Covid-19 law in order to protect the health of the population and to reduce the economic damage caused by the corona pandemic. The opponents of the Corona measures now suffered a defeat – although they had collected a lot of money for their campaign in the past few weeks and even mobilized support from abroad.

The number of new infections is increasing sharply in the country

The number of new infections in Switzerland is currently increasing sharply. The ruling Federal Council has not yet reacted with new restrictions. The government did not want to stir up more resistance to the measures before the result of the referendum was known, experts said. But now the requirements could be tightened, as there is widespread approval of the Covid certificate.

It was only on Tuesday that the Swiss health authorities warned of a piling up “fifth wave”. The vaccination rate among the Swiss is roughly at the same level as in the hard-hit neighboring countries Austria and Germany – around two thirds of the populations there are fully vaccinated. With the yes to the Covid Pass, billions of Swiss francs were also released for financial aid to employees and companies that were badly affected by the pandemic.