President of Switzerland, Guy Parmelin, has said that a move to mandatory 2G restrictions “can no longer be prevented.” He made the case that, amid a rise in COVID cases, including the new virulent strain Omicron, the unvaccinated should expect a long-term curtailment of their freedoms.

COVID hospitalisations in Switzerland continue to rise

Last Friday, the Federal Council submitted plans to further strengthen COVID restrictions in Switzerland, amid a dramatic increase in hospital admissions, and the overloading of the healthcare system in a number of Swiss cities.

The two plans, unusually called “variant one and two”, both include so-called "2G" laws which would restrict the COVID certificate to only those who have fully recovered from or have been vaccinated against COVID-19. “I would have liked to say, enjoy the holidays,” the president noted during the announcement, but “unfortunately, the government must once again propose additional measures to stymie a new wave.”

2G restrictions in Switzerland to be decided on Tuesday

In an interview given to the Tages-Anzeiger, the president said the government wanted to avoid a lockdown if at all possible. He stressed that vaccination was the main way out of the crisis and that unvaccinated people “have to accept that certain activities may not be possible temporarily."

He anticipated that 2G restrictions will be inevitable in Switzerland and that, "It may mean that 2G will have to be implemented for longer in the leisure sector." The proposals are currently being debated by the cantons. A decision was expected on Tuesday, but the Federal Council has pushed the decision back to Friday.