ZURICH (Reuters) – The Swiss government plans to halt most free COVID-19 testing for people who are not vaccinated now that nearly half the population has got the jabs, it said on Wednesday.
“For the government, protecting hospital structures now has priority, no longer protecting the non-vaccinated population,” it said while keeping in place scaled-back curbs on public life it adopted in June as new cases were on the decline.
New cases have since rebounded https://www.covid19.admin.ch/en/overview?time=total to more than 2,000 a day. More than 730,000 people in Switzerland and tiny neighbour Liechtenstein have had confirmed infections and around 10,400 have died of the disease since the pandemic broke out last year.
The Swiss strategy has focused on repetitive testing in schools and companies as well as preventive testing free of charge. The federal government will continue to finance tests in schools, companies and healthcare facilities.
Should cantons agree, however, non-vaccinated adults without symptoms will from Oct. 1 have to pay for their own voluntary COVID-19 tests and no longer qualify for five free home tests a month. They will also have to pay for tests required to enter some events.
(Reporting by Michael Shields; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
