Switzerland to vote on whether to keep Covid restrictions as cases surge

Voters will have their say on the modifications of a previous Covid law, which were adopted by the Swiss Parliament last March. According to a document from the Federal Council (The latest wave has hit Switzerland hard with a seven-day rolling average of over daily 5,000 cases this past week in a population of 8 million. According to the Swiss government’s Covid platform, 75,843 new cases had been detected in the country over the past 14 days as of Thursday, a number approaching last year’s peak of infections.This is the second time in less than six months that the Swiss have had to vote on health measures. In June, citizens supported the 2020 Covid law with 60.2% of the vote in a first referendum.Navigating the pandemic and its legal updates has been a challenge for the Confederation’s system of direct democracy, in which all decisions taken at the federal, cantonal or municipal level can later be questioned by voters.As is usually the case, three laws will be put to the vote on Sunday: the Covid law, an initiative “for strong nursing care” and an initiative on how federal judges are selected.