BERN, Switzerland (LifeSiteNews) — The Swiss government has announced a proposal to lift most of the COVID restrictions currently in place in the country next month.
“As of next week, I believe we can discuss the lifting of quarantine and home office requirements,” Swiss health minister Alain Berset told the press Friday.
The Swiss Federal Council is expected to approve Berset’s proposal this Wednesday.
This would mean that, as of Wednesday, people who have been in close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19 will no longer be required to self-isolate. This includes people living in the same household as someone who tests positive.
Additionally, as of February 16, so-called COVID certificates or vaccine passport requirements (referred to as the 2G rule in Switzerland and other German speaking countries) will also be scrapped. So will capacity limits for big events or maximal attendance for private gatherings.
According to Swiss newspaper Blick, the situation in hospitals and intensive care units “has eased considerably” in Switzerland. Though COVID hospitalizations are still happening, “the cases are usually much milder.”
This was echoed by Berset in his Friday announcement.
“As the Federal Council has always said, these measures are only here so long as they really help in fighting the pandemic and help avoiding an overload of the hospital system,” he explained.
It is believed the only restriction which will remain in place for some time after February 16 is the mask mandate.
IKEA, the retail furniture giant, has announced that it will CUT sick pay for unvaccinated employees who are forced to quarantine after being exposed to Covid-19 in the United Kingdom!
That's right: In the ongoing global effort to discriminate against unvaccinated people, massive corporations like IKEA are taking things to the next level, and planning to deprive working people of the pay they're entitled to simply because of their vaccination status!
That's why we're asking you to SIGN and SHARE this petition calling on IKEA's executive leadership to discontinue any unfair policies that target unvaccinated workers and threaten them with reduced pay, or face a worldwide boycott of their stores and products.
This new policy will strip unvaccinated IKEA employees who have come in contact with someone who's tested positive for Covid-19 and, therefore, forced to isolate themselves, from well over half of their normal sick pay.
According to a report from Daily Mail, IKEA workers in the U.K. make, on average, between £404 and £452 per week. However, under the corporation's ridiculous new Covid policy, they can expect to make about £96.35 instead -- just because they've chosen against getting the vaccine.
To be clear: As the Omicron variant continues to rise, it's become more and more obvious that the Covid-19 vaccine is largely ineffective at preventing transmission and infection of the virus.
And it also goes without saying that everyone, everywhere should be able to opt against getting this experimental shot -- be it for medical, ethical, faith-based, or simply personal reasons -- without it affecting their ability to make a living and provide for their families.
But, as things currently stand, it would appear that IKEA executives disagree.
While the company has tried to sugar-coat the new policy to the best of their abilities, claiming that "this is an emotive topic and all circumstances will be considered on a case by case basis," the fact remains that any such policy seeks to penalize workers for being unvaccinated -- plain and simple.
And it's obvious where things are headed should this policy stay in place: Affected employees will inevitably opt against disclosing any known contact with a Covid-positive person in order to avoid unfairly losing their pay.
Regardless, this is unacceptable and IKEA must rethink things going forward.
So let's let them know where WE stand, and that, until they revoke this misguided, discriminatory pay policy, we will NOT continue to patronize their company or use their products any longer.
So please SIGN and SHARE this petition calling on IKEA's leadership to abandon this policy (and any future policies) that would, in any way, discriminate against employees in the U.K. for choosing against getting vaccinated for Covid-19.
It shouldn't be any multi-billion-dollar corporation's responsibility or prerogative to withhold pay from their workers just because they've chosen to retain the basic right to make important medical decisions for themselves without undue influence or coercion.
IKEA has let us know how they feel. Now it's time to share with them how we feel.
Thank you!
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
'Retail giant Ikea will drastically cut sick pay of unvaccinated UK employees': https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/retail-giant-ikea-will-drastically-cut-sick-pay-of-unvaccinated-uk-employees/
**Photo Credit: Shutterstock
Blick reports that the announcement has generated mostly positive reactions from Swiss politicians although some, like the Swiss President of the Conference of Health Directors, Lukas Engelberger, questioned the timing of the decision. Engelberger argued that the lifting of restrictions should only take place “after the Omicron wave reaches its peak.”
This sentiment was echoed by Dr. Andreas Widmer of the University Hospital of Basel and President of the National Center for the Prevention of Infections who warned against lifting mask mandates too soon.
“At the moment, the mask mandate must not be lifted under any circumstance,” Widmer said, arguing that the Omicron variant could be more dangerous than is currently believed.
Others, like Léonore Porchet, a member of the Green Party of Switzerland, have called for the immediate lifting of mask mandates, particularly for children and teenagers.
“We have seen how much children suffer both mentally and physically when they are restricted [by these masks],” she argued.
Switzerland’s announcement comes after several other European countries including the U.K., Denmark, Sweden and the Czech Republic have announced the lifting or easing of their COVID restrictions.