Measures against Covid-19 – confrontation with Austria: Switzerland believes in its crown path – News

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Austria chooses a short block. In Switzerland, on the other hand, there is agreement: a blockade does not lead to the finish line and could even worsen the situation.

It is about a lot: about the winter season, about Christmas. This is why Austria is taking tough measures to deal with the high number of cases. The block applies again: you can only go out for important errands or for “physical and mental relaxation”.

Save what can be saved

The Austrian economy grudgingly accepted the blockade, but the disappointment can be felt especially in the retail trade, which now has to transfer part of the Christmas business to the Internet. It’s regrettable, says Eva Voit, Marketing Manager of Messepark Dornbirn. “The trade has prepared and then comes the block, which is obviously bitter.”

A normal winter season is also not expected in the tourism sector, although that is precisely why measures are being taken. The director of the Vorarlberg Chamber of Commerce, Christoph Jenny: “The point now is really to use this block to save what can still be saved.”

Different development of the number of cases

The number of infections in Austria has skyrocketed, especially in the past two weeks. Now the government wants to use the blockade to pull the rope.

Quite different in Switzerland. The number of cases in both countries has remained more or less the same for a long time. In the past 14 days, neighboring countries have registered around 1,000 new infections per day for every 100,000 inhabitants. The difference: in Austria the trend is currently up, in Switzerland it is slowly down.

Prevent the yo-yo effect

Is Switzerland well on its way to bypassing a blockade and monitoring case numbers? Rudolf Minsch, Economiesuisse’s chief economist, is convinced of this. The Federal Council has chosen “the right direction”. In his view, a blockade is even counterproductive in the fight against the crown: “It would only cause displeasure and at worst it would result in people no longer adhering to the measures,” Minsch said. Also, there is a risk of a yo-yo effect after a block ends. People do all these things they couldn’t do in a long time: meet people, party. Minsch calls it a “need for compensation”.

Virginie Masserey of the Federal Office of Public Health also considers the yo-yo effect plausible: with a blockade, as in Austria, the number of cases can be massively reduced. “But you run the risk of the epidemic returning as soon as you reopen it. Because the virus hasn’t gone away, it’s still there. “

Both the trade association and the government are convinced of the Swiss way, as long as the measures are implemented consistently by the population. The next few weeks will show whether the decline in numbers is only a temporary phenomenon or whether the measures will have a lasting effect.