Switzerland still does not have a mask camp

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On March 16, 2020, things suddenly went fast: the Federal Council declared the “extraordinary situation” and sent Switzerland into the first corona lockdown. Shops, restaurants, entertainment and leisure venues: all closed. Initially until April 19, but it didn’t stop there. The country went through a crisis, the end of which was promised again and again – and then lasted for two years.

Masks and disinfectants were missing, toilet paper was running out. Now the question is: have politicians done enough to protect citizens? Has enough thought been given to the consequences of the lockdowns? Is Switzerland better prepared now? Time for a balance.

In the beginning, much was unclear, but it soon became clear: Switzerland has too few face masks. At the same time, the federal government said masks were useless. Internal logs later revealed that authorities also communicated this way because masks were missing.

You might think that Switzerland is certainly better prepared for future pandemics. Are you kidding me? Are you serious when you say that? There is no mandatory stock for protective masks, as reported by the Federal Office for National Economic Supply (BWL). However, some of the reserves procured by the federal government during the pandemic are still available in the Army pharmacy. The BWL therefore advises households to keep 50 hygiene masks in emergency stock per person.

The demand for disinfectants also increased rapidly. The result: ethanol, the raw material for disinfectants, became increasingly scarce. For example, distilleries sold supplies to cantons for use in the production of disinfectants.

Three years later, demand has even fallen below pre-pandemic levels, several manufacturers say. They attribute this to the inventories built up in 2020 and 2021 that are still being used up.

Today we know that disinfectants, masks and measures such as social distancing rules were so effective during the pandemic that other viruses hardly spread either. Correctly worn masks reduce the risk of infection, as the Max Planck Institute in Germany can prove.

Hundreds of medicines are still missing in Switzerland today. At the beginning of this year, the initiative “Yes to security of medical supply” was launched. The initiative aims to improve the supply of important medicines and medical supplies by making the federal government responsible instead of 26 cantons. In addition, Switzerland should be strengthened as a location for research, development, production and storage.

At the same time, the Federal Public Service of Health (BAG) and the FONES are currently examining a catalog of measures to improve the supply situation of medicines and vaccines in the future. Think of an enormous expansion of the medicines to be checked and an expansion of the mandatory stocks.

Due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus, the demand for goods to fight the pandemic skyrocketed. This has led to product shortages in many countries.

While Switzerland did not experience continued supply bottlenecks during the pandemic, the supply situation was tight for several weeks for some goods.

In some cases, important material for the medical laboratories was not available. This had a negative impact on the performance of tests. Parliamentarians now want to force the Federal Council to define important goods.

The situation was serious. However, the BAG could not explain quickly enough how serious it was because it did not have current data. The BAG became a laughing stock, as doctors sometimes faxed him the number of Covid cases. This turned out impressively: the degree of digitization of the Swiss healthcare system is insufficient.

After having to endure a lot of ridicule, the BAG is making progress with digitization. Step by step, it wants to move towards complete digitization – and therefore quickly move away from faxing.

Reliable health data is essential not only for managing a crisis, but also for existing and future medical treatment options, summarizes the Swiss pharmaceutical association Interpharma.

The conference of cantonal health directors (GDK) came to the conclusion today: digitization in the healthcare system must be promoted and regulated in a binding manner. By the end of the year, the Federal Council aims to develop the dispatch for the DigiSanté 2023 program, the promotion of digital transformation in healthcare.

During the crisis, not everything ran smoothly. There were delays, misunderstandings, coordination problems. There was a dispute between the federal government and the cantons. Also between individual departments.

In particular, the handling of the nationwide increase in cases in autumn/winter 2020 has shown that the responsibilities of the federal government and cantons in the “special situation” according to the Epidemics Act must be tightened.

The GDK concludes that Swiss federalism is a challenge to overcome a crisis of this magnitude, but not an obstacle. The challenges included the differences between cantonal regulations, which the population does not always understand. Therefore, in the future, when the Bundesrat orders measures, it must be determined who will bear what part of the costs.

On the other hand, the benefits of federalism for the GDK include the possibility of differentiated responses adapted to the respective epidemiological situation.

While the pandemic has challenged the healthcare system, it has also spurred research. “We have learned a lot in many areas – hundreds of researchers have provided real-time insights in recent years,” summarizes epidemiologist Marcel Salathé (48).

And yet, according to Salathé: “Unfortunately, there are still many areas in which we do not yet know enough, for example in the Longcovid area – there is still a lot to discover there.” Because even when the pandemic is over, the virus is constantly evolving.

On June 18, we will vote – for the third time in three years – on the Covid law. The Bundesrat and parliament want to extend parts of the current law until mid-2024, so that the authorities can act quickly in case of an emergency. However, many matters will have to be settled later.

Source:Blick

Livingstone

I am Liam Livingstone and I work in a news website. My main job is to write articles for the 24 Instant News. My specialty is covering politics and current affairs, which I’m passionate about. I have worked in this field for more than 5 years now and it’s been an amazing journey. With each passing day, my knowledge increases as well as my experience of the world we live in today.