Bern (AFP)

The Swiss government announced on Wednesday a "greater than expected" relaxation of its health measures in the face of Covid, with the imminent reopening of restaurants inside and the lifting of the quarantine for vaccinated people.

The Alpine country, where the Covid has killed more than 10,180 people, began a slow process in early March of easing the restriction measures that had been taken in February in the face of the second wave.

The new easing that will come into force on Monday was made possible thanks to the improvement in the epidemiological situation and the rapid progress of the vaccination of vulnerable people, which should be completed by the end of the month.

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From next week, it will again be possible to eat indoors in the restaurant, including after 11 p.m., but it will take a maximum of 4 people per table.

The terraces have been open since the end of April.

While cured people are exempt from the quarantine requirement for a period of six months, it will now be the same for vaccinated people.

For this, however, they must be fully vaccinated with a vaccine authorized in Switzerland or by the European Medicines Agency.

The exemption from quarantine for travelers and from the obligation to screen when entering the territory also applies to children under 16 years old, but it does not apply to people who have been cured and vaccinated coming from 'a state circulating a variant of the Sars-CoV-2 virus of concern.

As for events welcoming the public, the new ceiling is 100 people - instead of 50 - indoors and 300 - instead of 100 - outdoors.

On the amateur sports side, 50 people can now get together to play sports together, instead of 15 until now.

The limit placed on groups in the culture has also been raised to 50 people, and it is again possible to organize shows, to which the same rules apply as for events welcoming the public (wearing a mask in particular).

At the university, the limit of 50 people set for face-to-face teaching has been lifted.

Monday will mark the end of compulsory homework for companies that organize regular screenings.

Large events will again be authorized from July, with a maximum of 1,000 people inside and 5,000 outside (if seated).

From August 20, major events will be able to accommodate up to 10,000 people.

Almost 1.5 million people have been fully vaccinated in Switzerland, which has 8.6 million inhabitants.

© 2021 AFP