Switzerland now allows grandparents to hug grandchildren aged under 10 amid eased coronavirus measures

Grandparents in Switzerland are now allowed to hug their grandchildren under the age of 10 as part of measures to ease coronavirus-related restrictions.

Switzerland has started easing restrictions this week, enabling businesses such as DIY stores, beauty salons, and physiotherapy practices to reopen.

Daniel Koch, the head of the infectious diseases unit at the Switzerland’s Federal Department of Public Health, dropped on Thursday the restriction after concluding with specialists that children “do not transmit the virus, or if they are infected they are infected by their parents.”
There “is no danger for grandparents” embracing their grandchildren and emphasised the importance of that contact, Koch added.

A spokesperson for the Swiss government confirmed to CNN on Thursday that visits should be brief but are nonetheless “permitted and are even beneficial for the mental well-being of grandparents.”

Earlier on Wednesday, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) technical lead for the coronavirus response, said: “I’m sure many grandparents around the world are dying to hug their children and grandchildren.”
Van Kerkhove added that although children seem “less affected,” there have still been cases of transmission from adults to children and vice versa.