Switzerland approves the covid passport in a referendum in the middle of the fifth wave of the coronavirus pandemic

In the middle of the fifth wave of the pandemic of coronavirus, the swiss They voted yes to the law that allows the establishment of the covid passport in the country, according to the first estimates published on Sunday by the gfs.bern polling institute.

The opponents of the covid passport, who had triggered the referendum, would have therefore lost the scrutiny. The polls carried out before the vote always gave a clear majority to the “yes” to the law.

Only the right-wing populist UDC party, the country’s leading political force, asked to vote against.

The Swiss also voted Sunday on a popular initiative on nursing care, which calls on the Confederation to guarantee “adequate remuneration” for such benefits.

As a sign of the unusual tensions in Switzerland, police blocked the square in front of the government and parliament headquarters in Bern on Sunday in anticipation of demonstrations.

Increasing tensions in Switzerland, a country renowned for its culture of dialogue and where referendums are held several times a year, created a big surprise.

These votes come when Switzerland, like other countries, experiences an outbreak of covid-19 infections since mid-October due to the delta variant.

But, unlike other countries in the same case, the government has so far refused to tighten control measures at the national level, arguing that the occupancy of intensive care beds by coronavirus patients is relatively low to date ( twenty%).

_______________________________