The Swiss government on Wednesday extended coronavirus-related restrictions until the end of February, as well as decided to close all shops, except for those selling vital goods, and required all employers to switch to working remotely
ZURICH (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th January, 2021) The Swiss government on Wednesday extended coronavirus-related restrictions until the end of February, as well as decided to close all shops, except for those selling vital goods, and required all employers to switch to working remotely.
Despite the ongoing rise in the daily increment of COVID-19 cases, Switzerland has detected two new highly transmissible variants of the virus, which may trigger a further increase in the number of cases. The current restrictions were imposed on December 18 and are set to terminate on January 22.
"In view of the worrying epidemiological situation, the Federal Council decided ... is extending the measures introduced in December by a further five weeks: restaurants, cultural venues, and sports and leisure facilities are to remain closed until the end of February ... From Monday, 18 January, there will be a requirement to work from home, shops selling non-essential goods will be closed," the government said in a press release.
According to the government, if working from home is not possible, employers should enforce further measures to protect their staff. People must wear masks indoors where there is more than one person in a room, as maintaining a large distance in the same room is no longer sufficient.
"Employers of people at especially high risk in occupations in which protective measures cannot be implemented must grant those employees a leave of absence on full pay. In such cases, they may claim coronavirus-related compensation for loss of earnings," the press release added.
Since the outbreak in early 2020, Switzerland has recorded 490,358 infections, including 7,851 fatalities.
