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Swiss grandparents told they “can now hug their grandkids”.
According to Daniel Koch, the head of the infectious diseases unit at the Federal Department of Public Health (FOPH), it is no longer necessary to keep the distance between the grandparents and grandchildren.
The original recommendation was issued “when our learning curve about the transmission of coronavirus was still high”, Koch said in a press conference on Monday afternoon.
However, it has been revised because “we now know that young children don’t transmit the virus”, he added.
He pointed out, however, that only children under 10 years of age should be allowed contact, not older kids or teenagers.
Koch said that many grandparents “live to see their grandkids, it’s important for their mental well-being”.
However, while hugging is now authorised, Koch cautioned against ‘going too far”.
“We are talking about brief contact with grandchildren, not get-togethers with the entire family, babysitting, or spending time with the kids outside the home”, he said.
Any activity or behavior that involves groups or makes it impossible to keep social distances should not be practiced, “as it will endanger the heath of the vulnerable population”, Koch added.
