GENEVA 

The Swiss government on Wednesday said it will compel people to show proof of vaccination to enter restaurants and indoor events as health officials have warned of a fourth wave of COVID-19.

“If hospital admissions continue to rise as sharply as they have recently, hospitals could be overstretched within just a few weeks,” the Swiss Federal Council said.

“The focus is on extending the requirement to present a COVID certificate to access indoor areas of restaurants, cultural and leisure facilities and indoor events,” as of Aug. 31 which would be similar to the system in France, the council added.

The government said that hospital admissions of patients with the coronavirus had been rising sharply for several weeks.

On Tuesday, Patrick Mathys, the head of the government’s crisis team at the Federal Office for Public Health, had described the situation as “very unfavorable” and “to some extent worrying”.

A fourth wave of infections had begun and risked overburdening the hospital system, he told a news conference.

Mathys said the level of vaccinations was too low: around 56% of the population have had at least one dose and 50% have had two. In the European Union, 63% of people have received at least one vaccine jab.

Since the end of June, the number of new reported coronavirus infections has risen in Switzerland and the growth is largely due to the highly infectious Delta variant affecting unvaccinated people, mainly in the 10-to-29-year-old age group, officials said.

Health officials reported that on Tuesday, 500 people were being treated in Swiss hospitals for COVID-19.

Around 70% of intensive beds are occupied, 14% by COVID patients, but the number of coronavirus-related deaths remains at a low level, they said.

"The proportion of the non-immune population is still far too large," Mathys said. "The figures do not indicate that the situation could ease in the near future."

The latest data shows the daily number of new cases is hovering between 2,500 and 3,000.

Christoph Berger, the head of the government’s advisory commission for vaccinations, said experts would issue an official recommendation for all people over the age of 12 to get the jabs.

Currently, only about 16% of the 12-18 age group in Switzerland have been fully vaccinated.