Here you will find an overview of information and documents relating to the management of the coronavirus pandemic to date.
- Federal government policy paper on the medium- and longer-term development of the COVID-19 epidemic and the transition to a “normal situation”, as of May 2022
- Medium-term planning autumn/winter 2021/2022, as of June 2021
- Three-phase model, as of May 2021
- Strategic basis at federal and cantonal level, as of October 2020
- FOPH COVID-19 Task Force
- Evaluation of the management of the COVID-19 crisis
- Interim report regarding the coronavirus in Switzerland and in the Principality of Liechtenstein
Switzerland’s strategy
Federal government policy paper on the medium- and longer-term development of the COVID-19 epidemic and the transition to a “normal situation”, as of May 2022
You will find the federal government’s current policy paper on the medium- and longer-term development of the COVID-19 epidemic and the transition to a “normal situation” on the Situation in Switzerland page.
Medium-term planning autumn/winter 2021/2022, as of June 2021
At its meeting on 30 June 2021, the Federal Council discussed ways of preparing Switzerland for the autumn and winter months of 2021/2022 and a possible renewed rise in the number of coronavirus cases. It produced a report setting out various scenarios and its considerations on how to proceed. The focus was on the rapid identification of new variants of concern, continuing the vaccination campaign, ensuring sufficient capacity for testing and contact tracing in the cantons. You will find detailed information on this in the following document:
Medium-term planning policy paper (available in German (PDF, 353 kB, 30.06.2021), French (PDF, 346 kB, 30.06.2021) or Italian (PDF, 341 kB, 30.06.2021))
Three-phase model, as of May 2021
Switzerland’s overall strategy for managing the epidemic rested on three pillars: vaccinations, tests and non-pharmaceutical measures. To achieve a normalisation of social and economic life, the Federal Council defined a three-phase model outlining the strategic approach up to the exit from the COVID-19 crisis against the backdrop of increasing vaccination coverage and the introduction of broad and repetitive testing. You will find detailed information on this in the following document:
Three-phase model policy paper (available in German (PDF, 530 kB, 12.05.2021) or French (PDF, 592 kB, 12.05.2021))
Strategic basis at federal and cantonal level, as of October 2020
The federal government and the cantons have interrelated tasks in the management of COVID-19. This results in a need to coordinate assessments, reconcile measures and define processes. This brief strategy paper set out to clarify the basic principles governing these issues. The aim was to protect the health of the population in Switzerland and minimise the impact of the outbreak and spread of the coronavirus as far as possible.
COVID-19 management: Strategic bases of the Swiss Conference of the Cantonal Ministers of Public Health (GDK) and the FDHA-FOPH (in German (PDF, 768 kB, 22.10.2020) or French (PDF, 779 kB, 22.10.2020))
FOPH COVID-19 Task Force
The FOPH COVID-19 Task Force was disbanded in April 2022. Its focus had been managing the crisis and its consequences for people in Switzerland.
The FOPH COVID-19 Task Force comprised the following: the Director-General of the FOPH, the task force leadership and staff; representatives of the General Secretariat of the Federal Department of Home Affairs (GS-FDHA), the Federal Civil Protection Crisis Management Board and the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO); the Commissioner of the Federal Council for the Coordinated Medical Service; and, when needed, representatives of additional federal agencies and heads of FOPH working groups formed in response to the coronavirus.
The FOPH COVID-19 Task Force met (digitally) several times a week.
You will find the minutes of its meetings from November 2020 (in German) here.
Most recent published minutes of the FOPH COVID-19 Task Force:
April 2022 minutes (PDF, 1 MB, 01.06.2022) (in German)
March 2022 minutes (PDF, 2 MB, 17.05.2022) (in German)
February 2022 minutes (PDF, 2 MB, 01.04.2022) (in German)
January 2022 minutes (PDF, 6 MB, 04.03.2022) (in German)
December 2021 minutes (PDF, 9 MB, 02.02.2022) (in German)
November 2021 minutes (PDF, 8 MB, 04.01.2022) (in German)
October 2021 minutes (PDF, 7 MB, 21.12.2021) (in German)
September 2021 minutes (PDF, 9 MB, 15.11.2021) (in German)
August 2021 minutes (PDF, 5 MB, 20.10.2021) (in German)
July 2021 minutes (PDF, 5 MB, 08.10.2021) (in German)
June 2021 minutes (PDF, 8 MB, 03.09.2021) (in German)
May 2021 minutes (PDF, 10 MB, 03.09.2021) (in German)
April 2021 minutes (PDF, 7 MB, 10.06.2021) (in German)
March 2021 minutes (PDF, 11 MB, 20.05.2021) (in German)
February 2021 minutes (PDF, 9 MB, 13.04.2021) (in German)
January 2021 minutes (PDF, 9 MB, 11.03.2021) (in German)
December 2020 minutes (PDF, 9 MB, 25.02.2021) (in German)
November 2020 minutes (PDF, 10 MB, 25.02.2021) (in German)
Evaluation of the management of the COVID-19 crisis
In 2020 the FOPH commissioned an external evaluation of the management of the COVID-19 pandemic up to summer 2021.
The evaluation of the first phase of the pandemic up to summer 2021 revolved around two main questions: Was the response of the federal authorities, and in this case the FOPH in particular, and the cantons to the COVID-19 threat situation timely and appropriate? What potential for improvement exists in terms of crisis preparedness and management? The evaluation was conducted by Interface Politikstudien.
The evaluation concluded that the federal and cantonal authorities basically managed the pandemic well and mostly reacted appropriately to the threat.
You will find detailed information in the following documents:
- Evaluation of the management of the COVID-19 crisis - Executive Summary (German (PDF, 708 kB, 31.05.2022), French (PDF, 725 kB, 31.05.2022) or Italian (PDF, 693 kB, 31.05.2022))
- Evaluation of the management of the COVID-19 crisis - Final report INTERFACE (German (PDF, 2 MB, 31.05.2022))
- Evaluation of the management of the COVID-19 crisis - Statement (German (PDF, 248 kB, 31.05.2022), French (PDF, 239 kB, 31.05.2022) or Italian (PDF, 177 kB, 31.05.2022))
Interim report regarding the coronavirus in Switzerland and in the Principality of Liechtenstein
The report sets out the general epidemiological situation and the impact of the measures taken by the government with regard to the coronavirus.
COVID-19: Epidemiological interim report, dated 27 April 2020, available in German (PDF, 1 MB, 07.05.2020); French (PDF, 1 MB, 07.05.2020) or Italian (PDF, 1 MB, 07.05.2020)
Last modification 08.06.2022