swisstph / covid_measures_by_canton

Repository for the data sets containing the timings on the COVID measures implemented by canton.

COVID_measures_CH

Robert Pascal Dünner 12/17/2020

Introduction

These data sets were created to track the implementation and relaxation dates of all non-pharmaceutical measures against SARS-CoV-2 in each canton of Switzerland.

As of November 2020, there are several federally mandated measures in place across the whole of Switzerland. However, cantons are free to implement additional (or more restrictive) measures. Thus the collated data here includes both the federal measures that are identical across all cantons, as well as additional more restrictive measures by canton layered on top of the federal measures.
As of beginning of December a lot of new measures, both federal and cantonal, have been implemented that concern the opening hours of businesses, restaurants etc. Those measures are only very badly represented in this data set, as it does not track opening hours.

Data set

The data is collated and available in several file formats.

• The “COVID_measures_CH.ods” data set is a spreadsheet that contains the federal measures as the first sheet and the measures by canton in all subsequent sheets. The first row details variable names.

• The “COVID_measures_CH.csv” data set contains the same data in long format. Variable canton has 27 levels, one for federal regulations and one for each canton.

• The “COVID_measures_CH_only.csv” data set contains only the federal measures in long format.

• The “COVID_measures_KT_only.csv” data set contains only the cantonal measures in long format.

• The “COVID_measures_KT_epi_openZH.csv” data set contains the cantonal measures plus the epidemiological data by canton that is available via the open government data from canton Zurich.
  It also contains the maximum daily temperature for 16 cantons that is available from MeteoSchweiz via opendata.swiss.

Sources

The timings of implementation and relaxation of cantonal measures have been collected from several different sources and translated to machine readable form here. Where possible, ordinances from each canton where checked to verify dates. Find below a list of current sources.

• GDK-CDS: Overview created by the conference of the health-directors. By canton, and then by date, contains some links. No explicit mention of a license.

• Wikipedia: Overview of measures by time, with little other detail provided. Often contains links to sources, many links are outdated and just point to overview pages. Wikipedia is licensed under a CC BY-SA-3.0 license.

• Watson: Overview of current measures by canton and the date when they came into action. Past dates not available. No explicit mention of a license.

• A document created by Sandra Flückiger of the ETH-Rat communications team that details the measures either by canton or federal and some international measures as well. Usage granted.

• The _openZH epidemiological data stems from the open government data from canton Zurich, which is distributed under a CC BY-4.0 license. This data set is sometimes colloquially referred to as openZH.

• The temperature data stems from MeteoSchweiz via opendata.swiss. It is published under copyright licence by the Swiss federal authorities and granted non-comercial use and distribution under mention of the source.

License

As different sources with different licenses were used, we believe that a CC BY-SA-4.0 license is applicable to this work. The original work remains of course under its original license.

Accuracy

As this data set is curated by hand, it is shared without guarantee. The data set will be updated irregularly.

WARNING: Even though all care was taken to create this data set, and where possible, timings and measures are verified at source (level of cantonal ordinances), there are likely to be some mistakes/or mismatches. No guarantee for data quality is given and no responsibility whatsoever for any liability as a result of use of this data is taken. If you have alternative sources, would like to correct dates or measures or have any other type of input please get in touch with us.

Variables

Variables are either coded according to the Oxford coronavirus government response tracker code book, which can be found here, or are coded in more detail to reflect measures in Switzerland. Oxford coded variables can be distinguished by their preceding variable name or oxford (for example C1_oxford_ or oxford_containment_health). Please refer to the oxford code book for descriptions on all oxford variables. All other variables have self-explanatory variable names and are coded as either factors with self-explanatory levels or as numerical.
The “COVID_measures_KT_epi_openZH.csv” data set contains additional variables that are directly imported from their source (see above). Those additional epidemiological variables have been renamed with self-explanatory variable names, but their exact coding schemes are unknown to us.

Below please find an overview table of the non-oxford measures variables.

Variable name	Description	Levels / Range	Comment
date	This is the date the measure came into action or was communicated
canton	The canton where the measure applies	26 or 27 levels, one for each canton plus one for federal	27 levels for “COVID_measures_CH.csv”, 26 for all other
—	—	—	—
school_primary_secondary	State of obligatory schools	3 levels: open, closed, open with restrictions	Complete switch of teaching activity to remote is recorded as closed
school_highschool	State of continuing education schools	3 levels: open, closed, open with restrictions	Complete switch of teaching activity to remote is recorded as closed
school_university	State of university level education	3 levels: open, closed, open with restrictions	Complete switch of teaching activity to remote is recorded as closed
—	—	—	—
home_office_recommended	Presence of public campaign for home-office	2 levels: yes / no
leisure	Are leisure activities open? Museums, zoos, amusement parcs, gaming rooms, casinos and other leisure activities	3 levels: open, closed, open with restrictions
sport	State of private sporting facilities, mainly gyms	3 levels: open, closed, open with restrictions
shops	State of non-essential shops	3 levels: open, closed, open with restrictions
hairdressers	State of hairdressers	3 levels: open, closed, open with restrictions
church	Religious gatherings permitted?	3 levels: open, closed, open with restrictions
restaurants	Are restaurants open?	3 levels: open, closed, open with restrictions
restaurants_tablesize	Restriction in number of people per table	numerical, NA means no restriction
clubs	Are clubs open?	3 levels: open, closed, open with restrictions
clubs_npeople	How many people are allowed inside one sector of a club	numerical, NA means no restriction
—	—	—	—
facial_coverings_shops	Are facial coverings mandatory in shops	2 levels: yes / no
facial_coverings_public_buildings	Are facial coverings mandatory in publicly accessible buildings	2 levels: yes / no
facial_coverings_schools	Are facial coverings mandatory in schools	2 levels: yes / no