Corona pandemic: Further restrictions are possible

Zug's health director Martin Pfister welcomes yesterday’s Corona decisions by the Federal Council, but would have been stricter on some issues himself. He will soon be meeting up with his regional counterparts.

Always further, but forward. That’s the strategy of the Federal Council and the cantons in their fight against the second wave of the corona virus. At the press conference in Bern on Wednesday, Swiss Health Minister Alain Berset said that those measures would always be taken that promise the greatest possible success against this perfidious infection that has taken humanity hostage. There is no certainty, however.

The Zug Health Director Martin Pfister "expressly welcomes" the measures taken by the Federal Council. The CVP government councillor (Regierungsrat) has a reservation, however: "I would have preferred even stricter restrictions in the area of events." Among other things, Pfister is also looking at the upper limit for meetings among families and friends that has now been imposed by the Federal Council. From now on, a limit of ten people applies for such occasions. Nevertheless, he believes that the solution that has now been determined "certainly moves in the desired direction".

The Zug Health Director is not alone in his strict stance on this matter. He also speaks in the name of the Conference of Health Directors of Central Switzerland(Zentralschweizer Gesundheitsdirektorenkonferenz), of which he is the President. He adds: "We will have to discuss amongst ourselves whether further measures should be considered."

The Zug Health Director would have intervened even further in the area of events

But Martin Pfister also states that it is good that measures are now uniform at the federal level: "This is much easier to communicate," he adds.

Do sports activities in groups produce a hotspot?
The health director is aware that strict measures have been adopted in the field of sporting activities. But he defends them with vehemence: “These restrictions have become necessary because there have been many infections in amateur sport."

Almost as if they had expected the new restrictions, many sports federations – such as the Unihockey federation – had already voluntarily suspended their championships.

Martin Pfister does not want this restriction to be understood as a fundamental prohibition of sport, however: "Sport and exercise are still important – but in the fresh air and without physical contact." According to Pfister, other provisions apply to young people under the age of 16, "so that school sports are still possible."

Although professional athletes are exempt from the above-mentioned restrictions, the restrictions on spectators – only up to 50 people – could have fatal consequences for the profession. Ice hockey without spectators, as was carried out at the end of February, is hardly the solution when the clubs are facing financial difficulties (see the article about the EV Zug yesterday) . And no finishing date has been set for the new restrictions.

Martin Pfister welcomes the rapid tests
The Zug Health Director is pleased that rapid antigen tests will now be available: "But these cannot always replace the previous PCR tests, however." Nevertheless, Martin Pfister stresses that he is following the recommendations of the Federal Office of Public Health in this matter. The strategy is always more and more advanced – and about-faces are also possible.