The Swiss public firmly rejected a plan to abolish the country’s COVID certificate, final results showed after a referendum Sunday.
Sixty-two percent of voters said ‘Yes’ to keeping the health pass, which was introduced in September. and not seek major amendments to Switzerland’s COVID law.
The certificate restricts entry to public places, including bars and restaurants to those who are fully vaccinated, recovered from the virus or have a negative test.
The referendum took place as concerns rise over the worrying new COVID-19 variant omicron, first detected in southern Africa and classified as a variant of concern by the World Health Organization.
Why was the referendum held?
Sunday’s vote was an attempt to amend the country’s COVID law, which brought in the health certificate and unlocked billions of Swiss francs in aid for workers and businesses hit by the pandemic.
Opponents of the certificate forced the poll with a petition that garnered 187,000 signatures, way above the 50,000 needed to hold a referendum.
They said the pass, which most people use via an app, is discriminatory and amounts to a de facto obligation to get vaccinated.
Along with grassroots groups that were formed during the pandemic, the right-wing People’s Party has campaigned for its abolition, despite voting for the certificate earlier this year.
In recent weeks, those trying to overturn its use have raised large amounts of cash for their campaign and drawn support from abroad — where negative sentiment toward new COVID restrictions has been rising.
The campaign even won the support of American anti-vaccination campaigner Robert F. Kennedy Jr. who flew in for a rally in the capital, Bern, earlier this month.
Polls conducted ahead of the vote, however, showed about 60% of Swiss people were against the abolition of the certificate.
Some supporters of the pass launched a campaign with the slogan, “get vaccinated, stop moaning.”
Despite the support for certificates, analysts expected a higher than average turnout for this referendum due to the unwillingness of many Swiss to get vaccinated.
Sunday’s poll was the second time in less than six months that the Swiss public has voted on the government’s response to the pandemic.
In June, 60% of voters approved prolonging national measures.