Daniel Ballmer

The canton of Bern plans to carry out a larger number of corona vaccinations from mid-January. For President Pierre Alain Schnegg, it is a “ray of hope”. Until then, however, stricter protective measures are needed.

The canton of Bern wants to start corona vaccinations on a larger scale in mid-January. It is hoping to be able to vaccinate around half of the population by mid-2021. "The vaccination will be a decisive step in the fight against the pandemic," said Frank Neff from the cantonal Corona special staff on Monday in front of the media.

Health director Pierre Alain Schnegg (58, SVP) spoke of a “ray of hope” in this stressful time for everyone. At the same time, he appealed to the population to continue to adhere to the protective measures taken by the authorities: "Until then we have to hold out together."

First of all, getting particularly vulnerable people vaccinated

The prerequisite for the start in January is that the vaccine is released and delivered in Switzerland in good time. Vaccination is decentralized in vaccination centers operated by the regional hospitals. In Bern there is also a location in the Migros Park in Wankdorf. Mobile teams are deployed in the regions for people who cannot get to the vaccination centers themselves.

In a second step, the canton wants to vaccinate retirement and frontline workers. "This is how the particularly vulnerable people should be protected," said Neff. The Directorate of Health expects the largest quantities of vaccine in the second quarter of 2021.

"Even stricter measures will be needed"

But the situation is still serious. The number of cases remains high. On Monday, 312 new infections were known compared to 218 a week ago. There were 339 corona patients in Bern hospitals. The number of deaths in the canton of Bern has risen to 505.

"It will need even stricter measures," said District President Schnegg. He therefore does not rule out that the catering establishments in the canton will soon be completely closed. From the end of November, restaurants and bars in the canton of Bern had to close at 9 p.m., and the closing time at 7 p.m. has been in effect across the country since Saturday.

(Translated from German by Yixuan Zhang)

Read the original story here.