Basel Budget Defies Deficit Fear; Coronavirus Lockdown Protests; Goodbye Quarta

News For 23 March 2021

Despite fears that the pandemic would have put Basel deeply in an economic slowdown, 2020 proved to be a bumper year.  The canton published its official figures for the year ended December last Thursday.  Official estimates for the year were for a loss of 13.7 million Swiss Francs.  In fact, the final tally seems to indicate a surplus of 932 million.  Of that amount, a reassessment of real estate in the canton accounted for almost 2/3 of the gain.  That still left a gain of almost 300 million attributable to tax receipts on economic activity.  The pandemic did, however, have an impact.  The single largest unexpected expenditure was payments to hospitals and nursing homes of 76 million francs to support them during the crisis.  In addition, nine million Francs were spent on protective material.  Cultural workers and companies were supported with eight million and five million francs were invested for rental discounts and the self-employed, and four million francs were invested in securing people in precarious living conditions.  Because tax revenues are collected in arrears, the Canton does not expect the full economic impact of Corona related conditions to be reported until totals for 2021 are available.

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Silent protests occurred in the city of Liestal, capital of Canton Basel Land, demonstrating against lockdown measures. The organizers of the protests, which also occurred in Zurich and Zug, said that their motivation was that the lockdowns unfairly protect the top 1% and not the other 99% of the population. The protesters also stated that this was a mask-free event. The first day of the protest saw attendance by over 3,000 individuals, including the right-wing motorcycle gang, Odin's People. Over the next few days an estimated total of 10,000 people participated. The protest saw no major violent altercations, however, one person was injured during a confrontation as the protest was winding down.

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Quarta the oldest animal in the Gorilla group at the Basel Zoo has sadly passed away at the age of 52. Quarta was born in 1968 at Basel Zoo and was the sister of Goma, the first gorilla to be born in an European zoo. Sadly last week, Quarta who had been suffering from a fox tapeworm infection which had been treated, was no longer strong enough to fight and passed away. The other gorillas in the group stayed with her and comforted her in her final hours. A gorilla's average life in the wild is 40 years, so she reached a ripe old age, and was the world's seventh oldest living gorilla in a zoo. A full examination will take place to determine the exact cause of her death.