People are tired of having to wear a mask

The end of the pandemic begins to seem within reach. Even now, the discipline in wearing masks is reducing, and the pressure to abolish the mask requirement is increasing. When will politicians react?

It often doesn't really fit properly anymore. In the best case under the nose, maybe. It can sometimes no longer be seen at all – this can be observed in public transport, at kiosks or in the office: mask fatigue is breaking out in Switzerland.

The authorities are also monitoring this development. At yesterday’s federal government Corona press conference, Rudolf Hauri, the top Swiss cantonal physician, said that the protective measures were being followed less than they were. This can be especially observed with regard to keeping a distance, wearing masks and shaking hands,. The reasons are probably manifold: the falling number of cases, the rapidly advancing vaccination campaign, the warm weather.

No mask outdoors, indoors only with conditions
Can the mask gradually be done away with? This question is being asked more often - including to the corona experts of the federal government. Anne Lévy, Director of the Federal Office of Public Health, dodged the question yesterday, and referred it to the Federal Council. She stressed, however, that the unvaccinated in particular should adhere to the above-mentioned measures. "Vaccination provides a good protection," she said. Fewer measures are needed for those who have been vaccinated.

But Anne Lévy also indicated that wearing masks was a political decision. The Federal Council will decide on a repeal in certain situations together with the fifth opening step. In fact, the relaxations explicitly include the mask requirement. According to the plan that the government sent to the consultation on 11 June, masks will become non-compulsory outdoors, at bus stops and train stations, as well as in the outdoor areas of restaurants and – subject to conditions – also in the workplace.

A number of demands to abolish the mask requirement
This plan does not go far enough for some, however. The Swiss restaurant owners, for example,. They demand that neither employees nor guests who move around indoors should have to wear a mask. But the Federal Council wants to stick to this. Casimir Platzer, president of GastroSuisse, has no sympathy for this.

"Thanks to the vaccinations, we are in a better starting position today than we were last summer. Nevertheless, there are to be stricter rules this year – that’s absurd."

Impatience is growing: when can we finally throw the mask into the waste bin?
Eloi Omella/Getty

As a reminder, the requirement to wear mask indoor was only introduced in October last year. And there were also fewer infections a year ago.

Nevertheless, the retail trade is also pushing for a further relaxation of the mask requirement. According to Urs Wellauer, director of the Bakers' and Confectioners' Association (Bäcker-Confiseurmeister-Verband), this is increasingly becoming a burden for the industry. Wellauer says that there are more and more customers who are annoyed about this. "This is also a burden for employees, who have to insist that customers comply with the mask requirement," he says.

“Wearing masks an ordeal at high temperatures”
In addition, wearing a face covering, especially at high temperatures, is also an ordeal for employees. The bakers - as well as the association of retailers - demand that the mask obligation should be cancelled in shops as soon as the normalization phase begins. According to the Federal Council, this will occur when all adult people willing to be vaccinated have been given access to a complete vaccination programme.

The retail trade is concerned about a concept paper of the Federal Council from mid-May, according to which certain basic measures in heavily frequented places such as the shops will continue to be "maintained for a certain period of time" even after normalisation. Dagmar Jenni, Managing Director of the Swiss Retail Federation, cannot understand this exception. "The mask requirement should be dropped as soon as all those willing to be vaccinated have been vaccinated," she says. Last year, the retail trade showed that the protection concepts are working – "notabene without vaccinations and masks". According to an externally commissioned evaluation, the incidence among retail employees was lower at that time than in the average population. With a high vaccination rate, Jenni expects the mask requirement to be abolished by mid-July, but at the latest by the end of July.

The SVP (Swiss Peoples’ Party) also insists that face masks must disappear when those willing to be vaccinated have been vaccinated. "All the measures must then be cancelled," says SVP parliamentary party  chairman Thomas Aeschi – and he also means the mask obligation in public transport.

The Federal Council wants to relax more than originally announced
Will the Federal Council address these demands at its meeting on Wednesday? During a debate in the National Council last week, Health Minister Alain Berset indicated that the relaxations will go further than proposed two weeks ago "because the situation allows it today". It is unlikely that the mask obligation will also fall completely indoors, such as on public transport or in restaurants, however. On the other hand, the Federal Council could be more generous with employers and the industry, and could convert the home office obligation into a recommendation.

The maximum number of visitors to large events could also be increased. Berset’s proposal foresees a maximum of 250 people for events without a certificate, and up to 3,000 indoors and 5,000 outdoors for events with certificates. The certificate gives access to events and makes it possible to take off the mask. For people who have been double vaccinated, have recovered from Covid or have been tested, this would also be possible in restaurants that opt for a certificate solution. They will probably have to continue to wear a face mask In public transport and shops, however.