News Archives

In view of the worrying epidemiological situation, the Federal Council decided at its meeting on 13 January to introduce further measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus. It 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. It is also introducing new measures to drastically reduce contact between people. From Monday, 18 January, there will be a requirement to work from home, shops selling non-essential goods will be closed, stricter rules will apply to private events and gatherings, and measures to protect those at especially high risk will be strengthened in the workplace.

The Competition Commission (COMCO) fines UPC by around CHF 30 million. In 2016, UPC acquired broadcasting rights for games of the Swiss Ice Hockey Championship. It refused to supply Swisscom with broadcasts of live ice hockey for years. This refusal is illegal under anti-trust law.

Contact tracing is used to identify people who have been in close contact with people who have been infected with the coronavirus. The SwissCovid app supports this process: it establishes whether we have been in close physical contact with someone who is infected. That way, we can break the chains of transmission.

In Switzerland there are only a small number of infections confirmed by tests. This means that the spread of the new coronavirus can be controlled by contact tracing. Continue to follow the hygiene and social distancing rules.

At its meeting on May 13, 2020, the Federal Council fixed the areas benefiting from stabilization measures as well as the financial criteria provided for Swiss sport. For the football and ice hockey leagues, 350 million swiss francs will be made available. Regarding popular and elite sport, the sum amounts to 150 million swiss francs.