Restaurants and museums may re-open on 11 May

On Wednesday, the Federal Council took a big step forward regarding the relaxations of the Corona virus restrictions: in addition to shops and schools, they will now allow restaurants, museums and libraries to reopen on 11 May. Major events remain banned until the end of August.

"The measures have worked," Federal President Simonetta Sommaruga told the media in Bern on Wednesday. As the number of infections is slowing down, the Federal Council has decided to proceed further with the easing of the restrictions announced on 16 April. As before, this is also striking a balance. "We remain realistic and are not opening everything up in a hurry." Public transport will also to be restarted in parallel with the openings.

Simonetta Sommaruga nevertheless appeals to the population: "We cannot just carry on living as before. The crisis is not over." Health Minister Alain Berset adds that it can only work if everyone pulls together, adheres to social distancing and the required health measures and, where possible, continues working from home.

The Federal Council has decided to proceed more quickly than previously planned in the easing of the relaxations.

Restaurants can also re-open on 11 May, under strict conditions. As a first step, a maximum of four people is allowed at one table, or parents with their children, said Berset. Two metres distance will have to be maintained between groups of guests, or separation elements will have to be present. Museums and libraries are also allowed to re-open, and Berset added that hygiene and distance rules can be well observed here.

Transition to a strict containment strategy
On Wednesday, the Federal Council also decided to ban large-scale events with more than 1,000 people until the end of August. "We have limited this to the end of August in order to coordinate with the neighbouring states," says Berset. This should give some planning certainty. On 27 May, The Federal Council will decide what to do with events with less than 1,000 people.

If the infection rate has fallen sufficiently low, the cantons should be again able to trace the infection chains across the board. "We will try to introduce a strict containment strategy," said the Health Minister. Positively-tested people will be isolated, and those who have had contact with them will be placed under quarantine.

Mountain railways and religious services: there’s still a lot to do
An app will be made available to support the tracing of infections. The use of the app is voluntary, and personal data will only accessible to the user himself/herself, and no personal data or location data are used. This app will certainly not replace the work that has already begun in the cantons, however, said Berset.

The Federal Council still has a lot of work to do, even if we are slowly returning to everyday life, Berset continues. For example, it still had to be discussed how to proceed with the mountain railways or with religious services.