Skiers pass the restriction signs to line up at the chairlift at Les Portes du Soleil ski resort during the global outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Les Crosets, Switzerland, December 19, 2020. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
ZURICH: Switzerland plans to extend its lockdown restrictions by five weeks to the end of February, including closing all restaurants, cultural and recreational sites, the government said on Wednesday. A formal decision is due next week after consultations with cantons.
Exemptions for regions less severely hit by the coronavirus have been scrapped, the government said, with a country-wide approach now entering force.
The extension of the so-called lockdown-light is needed because "it is already foreseeable that the number of cases will not decrease significantly and sustainably in the coming weeks," the government said.
