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   XPost: sac.politics   
   From: giggling_slut@sfchronicle.com   
      
   BERLIN -- Swiss voters on Sunday gave clear backing to   
   legislation that introduced a system with special COVID-19   
   certificates under which only people who have been vaccinated,   
   recovered or tested negative can attend public events and   
   gatherings.   
      
   Final results showed 62% of voters supporting the legislation,   
   which is already in force. The referendum offered a rare   
   bellwether of public opinion on the issue of government policy   
   to fight the spread of coronavirus in Europe, which is currently   
   the global epicenter of the pandemic.   
      
   The vote on the country's “COVID-19 law,” which also has   
   unlocked billions of Swiss francs (dollars) in aid for workers   
   and businesses hit by the pandemic, came as Switzerland — like   
   many other nations in Europe — faces a steep rise in coronavirus   
   cases.   
      
   The Swiss federal government, unlike others, hasn’t responded   
   with new restrictions. Analysts said it didn't want to stir up   
   more opposition to its anti-COVID-19 policies before they faced   
   Sunday's test at the ballot box — but that if Swiss voters gave   
   a thumbs-up, the government may well ratchet up its anti-COVID   
   efforts.   
      
   Health Minister Alain Berset said, with the result, authorities   
   “still have the necessary instruments to manage the crisis, and   
   we can, if necessary, adjust the instruments to developments.”   
      
   Of the country's 26 cantons (states), only two — Schwyz and   
   Appenzell Innerrhoden, both conservative rural regions in   
   eastern Switzerland — voted against the legislation.   
      
   “A decision has been made and we must come together now to get   
   through this winter as well as possible,” Berset said. “This is   
   an appeal for unity but also for respect for decisions that have   
   been taken."   
      
   Turnout on Sunday was 65.7%, unusually high for a country that   
   holds referendums several times a year.   
      
   On Tuesday, Swiss health authorities warned of a rising “fifth   
   wave” on infections in the rich Alpine country, where   
   vaccination rates are roughly in line with those in hard-hit   
   neighbors Austria and Germany at about two-thirds of the   
   population. Infection rates have soared in recent weeks.   
      
   The seven-day average case count in Switzerland shot up to more   
   than 5,200 per day from mid-October to mid-November, a more than   
   five-fold increase. Austria, meanwhile, has imposed a national   
   lockdown to fight the rising infections.   
      
   https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/swiss-vote-approve-covid-   
   restrictions-infections-rise-81431684   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)