Switzerland: Open Letter to Parliament on the Draft Federal Law on Coronaviruses

 OPEN letter to the Swiss Parliament 

What you still need to know NOW - updated decision-making aids
Draft Federal Law on Coronaviruses put out to consultation by the Federal Council

Letter to Federal Parliamentarians - National and State Councillors

Bern, 23 July 2020 - unofficial translation

(Sent by the Swiss Health Association)

With the start of the fall session, it may well be that the Federal Parliament will take a decision of the greatest consequence for the future of the Swiss people.  Among other things, the Federal Council wishes, for the time being at least, to prolong until 2022 the emergency law measures imposed. It is important to know that the consultation period, normally set at 3 months, has been shortened to 3 weeks, and this, in a general situation of fear, doubts and concerns.  Our world has been completely turned upside down in a very short time.

We have been faced with a very difficult situation, for you too, without any doubt.  We are a group of knowledgeable and committed physicians as well as people from outside the medical community. We are extremely concerned and would like to provide you, in summary, with the following not yet or insufficiently known information from the field of medicine and science to help you in your decision-making process.

Given the unique conditions we are currently facing, we take the liberty of soliciting and sharing with you our concerns, important information and related issues.

Thank you for taking the time to read our open letter!

1. Corona in 2020 - a misinterpretation?

1.1 The 2020 coronavirus is not a new phenomenon, although some RNA sequences (rapidly mutating) are new. Every winter, coronaviruses that cause infectious diseases affect about 15% of the population and cause colds and flu without there being a significant medical difference between years.

1.2 The reasons why viruses that cause colds should not scare us are the following: on the one hand, we have natural herd immunity (which is also the case for this coronavirus); on the other, we have more effective protective measures at our disposal, quicker and simpler than the commonly known vaccine option (see also under 1.12); rapidly applicable medical and therapeutic options, non virus-specific, but also effective for patients suffering from viral diseases. 

1.3 Secondly, at the medical level, there are much more significant viral cold illnesses than coronavirus - e.g. the influenza virus alone caused the deaths of 2,500 patients in 2015 in Switzerland. How was the Swiss population in 2015 and how is it today compared to 2015?

1.4. Has science been a lost cause here? In the year 2020, science in Switzerland has gone through a very difficult period: knowledge without correct measuring instruments - a novelty in Swiss medicine? knowledge without references? Knowledge without appropriate discourse? Knowledge under censorship? Scientific results predicted and dictated from above?   

1.5. Increasing natural defense against infection - we know the key effective preventive measures (sleep 8.5 hours, stress reduction, vitamin D3 and others) have not been considered a priority before or during Corona 2020, nor have they been implemented. 

1.6. Mask-wearing outside of the surgical environment is clearly unhealthy both for the body and mind (arrhythmia, concentration problems and other effects on the brain, bacteria, viruses, and fungal attacks). It is a material presenting a real danger, with harmful psychological and social effects, the so-called protective effect which is far removed from the official promises.

1.7 How is it possible that there will be no autopsies in 2020 neither in Switzerland nor in Europe? This creates falsified statistics on the causes of death, which are no longer credible or serious. Even victims of road traffic accidents, as long as they are recognized as positive, come to be counted as deaths as a result of Covid!  

1.8. Real-life contradictions: the protective effect and urgency of the mask over time; social distancing in theory and practice, over time; incorrect use of technical terms (e.g., "pandemic").  

1.9. Genetic vaccines - the principle of which is propagated in the traditional media - has not yet been tested and in the intended form will remain permanently written in the genome of the vaccinated person. It will be passed down from one generation to the next on a permanent basis. We have reports on experiments with this new technology dating back to the time of the swine flu - recording a significantly higher number of deaths. Can we accept this risk to our families and to the population? Less explored possibilities and real alternatives to the vaccine as already applied today in China and Russia (inactivated vaccine with no impact on the genome) have remained unaddressed.  

1.10. Covid statistics: the "number of cases" as an example of the new lack of Swiss seriousness? The required references are lacking (test validation, specificity and sensitivity of the tests,
information on the frequency of testing, registration and classification of patients and non-patients,
breakdown by severity of illness, etc.).

1.11. The 2nd wave: staged by the media and the authorities? As a phenomenon, the second wave doesn't exist. This fact is known by all doctors and scientists who rely on facts. The best solution would be for us to prepare ourselves to face a continuous wave - as has always been the case in recent years (see justification under 1.1) without any particular disruptions.

1.12. Vaccination does not fully protect. All the trials to date, even those of long standing for
finding a vaccine against cold viruses have shown a lack of protection.

1.13. Viruses cannot be eliminated - even with great effort. Instead, we must ask ourselves: what effort do we need to make in order to remain within a reasonable cost-benefit ratio?

2. Law and democracy

2.1. It can be shown that at the beginning of the crisis, the Federal Council had already received information from specialized, independent sources who clearly warned of the corona virus, advised a progressive approach and indicated very effective treatment options for patients affected with viruses - arguments that, significantly, are only just beginning to become known to the public, and which will lead to a great relativization of the "medical crisis situation".

2.2 Secondly - and not primarily for medical reasons - a global crisis with immense damage occurred in record time.

2.3. The fundamental constitutional rights of Swiss citizens have been unnecessarily and massively violated.

2.4. The fact that the Federal Council entered into trade agreements with the Bill Gates Foundation during the Corona crisis has hardly been mentioned publicly.

2.5. Resistance is forming and gathering strength against the "Covid" policy.as officially conducted (see point 4 "State of the nation, popular will").

2.6. The possibility for each canton to go beyond the emergency measures that the Confederation imposes on all cantons is legally controversial (June 2020) and may constitute a new violation of the Federal Constitution. 

3. Media - freedom of expression in peacetime

3.1. There has been a clear decline in the media over the last decade due to financial difficulties - with the corona virus, a windfall for the press suddenly becomes available. What are the reasons and possible repercussions?

3.2. 2020 censorship: among other things, hospitals in Switzerland have not been allowed to freely inform the population.

3.3. There was an outpouring of reports causing panic and excessive anxiety - with no way to escape or step back from this influence over several months. This is a new development in our societal landscape. We have seen a massive influence deployed with the support of the media as well as new technologies.   

3.4. Journalists' misconduct:  proven loyalty to contributors through misinformation (untruths), the
lack of proportionality, distortion of words and stigmatization (e.g., defamation of opponents) when they deviate from official opinion.

3.5. Call to follow up and denunciation. Reminders of past war times?

3.6. Some erroneous and even outrageous information remains uncorrected, for example extrapolation
of deaths due to Covid (7%).

4. State of the nation and popular will

4.1. Now, 3 months after the introduction of the confinement order, most people are rubbing their eyes. Economists all agree that it will take between 2 and 10 years to recover economically.  Many doctors have found their hands tied during lockdown. Many urgent interventions and necessary treatments could no longer be provided, at great risk and harm to sick people. Mental suffering is immeasurable, especially that imposed on the elderly. Never before have we, doctors and therapists, noted such an increase in the number of desperate and frightened patients, or those suffering from mental illness, in the space of three months. 

4.2. Never again confinement - people never want to have to spend 3 months in this way again. The collateral damage exceeded all fears.

4.3. The loss of confidence is immense, so great is the gap between the presentation of Covid on the one hand, and the the medical-scientific evidence as well as the reality of the diseases appearing in the population on the other hand.

4.4. The first criminal complaints against the Federal Council have been lodged.

4.5. Referendum groups have been formed against the threat of the latent chronicization of the emergency law.

4.6. An extra-parliamentary, independent and interdisciplinary Covid-19 commission of enquiry is necessary.

5. Parliament - a remedial resource?

5.1. The population is waking up and realizing that something is wrong. Obviously, the situation as it is presented to us is not in line with reality; it is largely distorted and violently impacts on people's well-being and sense of security.

5.2. We urge you to consider the current moment as a unique opportunity to help the population
in Switzerland and the families to overcome this period of anxiety and harm by taking the following actions necessary so that in the future, a crisis situation will never again unfold in this way. 

5.3. Task forces or working groups with links of interest as opposed to fair interdisciplinary advisory committees? Please henceforth prevent the formation of such unbalanced ad hoc advisory groups, which are systematically not in a position to show the responsibility required.

5.4. Freedom of the press is another public good that must be restored immediately. During crisis situations, freedom of opinion must be guaranteed. Our democracy is strong enough to ensure
that!

5.5. The proportionality of deployment of Government communicators, the police, the military, should also be subject to parliamentary scrutiny in times of crisis.

5.6. International commitments (e.g. the new law on epidemics, the obligation to
vaccinate) must not violate our fundamental constitutional right; a correction by parliament
is therefore absolutely essential. 

5.7. We have just experienced it in 2020: under the threat of a prolonged state of emergency, a restriction
of human rights is also possible in the future. A Switzerland without people's rights? We
are in urgent need of regulation in this regard.

5.8. Parliament must remain able to act in times of crisis in the future. Spring 2020 has shown us in an extraordinary manner how government power and technology can be combined in a way that undermines democracy and freedom. This must not happen again and must be submitted to parliamentary scrutiny.

5.9. By accepting the decision of the Federal Council you would be contributing to the perpetuation of the insidious state situation experienced during Covid. The decision not to go forward, offers you,
however, the possibility of resuming your work in all serenity, in the service of the common good

5.10. Take advantage of this opportunity now! We have all suffered a lot, in our work and in the quality of our lives, from the restrictions imposed in 2020. This has very negative consequences for every one of us and the community as a whole. Seize the opportunity now in order to be able to contribute to the restoration of a normal situation with a number of  improvements.

5.11. We want Switzerland - at the heart of Europe - to continue to be recognized for its role as a
forerunner both for its reliability and its high standard of living. We are all proud of it.  Contribute

to getting  back to normal.

5.12. Now let's get back to business as usual!

5.13. Please ensure that the former parliamentary functions are restored immediately and without
restrictions and that the Corona crisis may go down in Swiss history as a mistake of unique interpretation. Ensure that this misinterpretation, with its consequences, will never recur in the future!

6. Current main references

6.1. https://www.merkur.de/welt/coronavirus-impfstoff-virologe-streeck-zweite-welle-warnung-deutschlandmassentests-drosten-streit-zr-13834907.html 

6.2. https://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/das-coronavirus-scheint-weniger-gefaehrlich-als-gemeinhin- vermutet552799806256  

Thank you very much for reading the above and we wish you every success in your future work.

Yours sincerely,

Dr. med. Christian Zürcher
President

Pain Specialist SSED, Neural Therapy NSTS
General Internal Medicine FMH
Swiss Health Association
P.O. Box 3161
3001 Bern
corona@ass-vgs.ch

Original letter in German and French:

http://www.ass-vgs.ch/downloads/lettre%20ouverte%20au%20parlement%20loi%20f%C3%A9d%C3%A9rale%20CoV%20-%20offener%20Brief%20ans%20Parlament%20CoV%20Bundesgesetz%20(df)%2023.07.2020.pdf