Switzerland Extends Protective COVID Measures in Asylum Area Until June 2024
In 2020, following the increased number of COVID-19 cases, Swiss officials decided to impose COVID preventive measures and thus protect all those involved in asylum procedures, which have been extended several times up to this point,AtoZSerwisPlus.com reports.
Authorities in Switzerland introduced such preventive measures in April 2020 as part of the efforts to halt an increase in the number of infections caused by the spread of the Coronavirus and its new variants. Such rules were set to be kept in place until December 31, this year, however, in the meeting of 16 December, the Federal Council decided to further extend the measures until 2024.
According to Swiss authorities, such a decision has been taken following the recent studies conducted by leaders in this country.
“The measures relate in particular to conducting surveys, ensuring sufficient accommodation capacities in the federal centres and extending the departure deadlines in the asylum and expulsion procedures,” the statement published by the government of Switzerland reads.
Taking into account the epidemiological situation, authorities in Switzerland decided to abolish the COVID-related restrictions in spring 2022, “however, since the further course of the Covid-19 pandemic can hardly be reliably estimated, the ability to react quickly is still required.”
As a result, authorities in Switzerland decided to further extend the preventive measures until June 2024.
Despite the restrictions imposed to contain the further spread of the Coronavirus and its new strains, authorities in Switzerland have received a large number of asylum applications.
The recent data provided by the Swiss State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) revealed that the country would expect an influx of asylum seekers in the following months, expecting that the number of new applications would be at least 22,000 by the end of this year.
The figures provided by the same source revealed that the predicted number is about 7,000 more applications.
In addition, the figures from the Swiss State Secretariat for Migration showed that the country received 3,208 asylum applications in October, or 527 more compared to September figures, thus marking a 19.7 per cent increase.
The data provided by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO) showed that for a period between 2012 and 2021, the percentage of the resident population aged 15 and over with a migration background surged from 35 per cent to 39 per cent.
