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Covid-19 For Members

'Critical situation': Switzerland’s new coronavirus hotspots

Helena Bachmann
Helena Bachmann - [email protected]
'Critical situation': Switzerland’s new coronavirus hotspots
(FILES) In this file photo taken on September 08, 2021 A nurse takes care of a patient infected with Covid-19 in the intensive care unit of Lyon-Sud hospital in Pierre-Benite, on September 8, 2021. (Photo by JEFF PACHOUD / AFP)

As the number of infections and hospitalisations continues to rise, the epidemiological situation in Switzerland is deteriorating. This is how things stand right now.

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The number of new daily infections has been exceeding the 8,000 mark over the past week, showing no sign of slowing down . And as the weather is getting colder, more people gather indoors, where the virus spreads quicker, especially among the unvaccinated.

Health experts are qualifying Switzerland’s epidemiological situation as “critical”, warning that the presence of Omicron variant could pose new risks.

While the pockets of infection are still mostly concentrated in the eastern and central part of the country, the overall situation is getting worse. At the beginning of last week, for instance, Switzerland’s rate of infection per 100,000 people was 602,34; currently, it is 989, 09 / 100,000.

All the cantons marked in dark blue on this map from the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) exceed the national average: Thurgau, St. Gallen, the two Appenzells, Graubünden, Schwyz, Nidwalden, Obwalden, and Uri.

 

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Hospitalisations

Though the number of Covid-related hospital admissions has been relatively low for weeks, the number of intensive care beds occupied by coronavirus patients has been rising.

Last week, 154 Covid patients were hospitalised in Swiss ICUs; as of November 28, that number is 217, according to FOPH.

Also, while in mid-November the vast majority of these patients were in Appenzell Innerrhoden and Schwyz, right now ICUs in Basel-City, Glarus, Uri, and Bern are also impacted.

And the situation is likely to become even more dire: the Swiss government warned on November 23rd the country was “three weeks behind Austria” in terms of hospitalisations, and will reach Austria-style capacities in mid-December, with surgeries cancelled and hospitals needing to make triage decisions about who to treat in intensive care. 

READ MORE: Switzerland ‘three weeks behind Austria’ as hospitals warn of triage

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Deaths

While so far the Covid death rate is lower than it was during the second wave in November 2020,  it is climbing up.

In the previous 14 days, 144 deaths have been reported, with most (26) in Bern, followed by Zurich (24), Valais (15) , and Aargau 10.

Most of those who dies from coronavirus-related complications were unvaccinated, FOPH data indicates.

Is the Omicron variant impacting the epidemiological situation in Switzerland?

As this mutation, which emerged in South Africa, is relatively new in Europe, not much is known for the moment about how contagious it is and whether it can exacerbate the evolution of the pandemic.

On Monday, FOPH's director Anne Levy said health officials fear "the worrying variant" especially coupled with the Delta strain, which is dominant in Switzerland. It is not known either at this point , when the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines protect against Omicron.

However, the variant is already impacting pre-Christmas travel, as Switzerland has placed the UK, Portugal, Canada, and a number of other nations on its list of high-risk countries.

This means people arriving from these countries, including Swiss citizens and permanent residents returning to Switzerland, need to present a negative test on arrival and must quarantine for 10 days.

They will also have to  test between day 4 and day 7, along with informing cantonal authorities.

READ MORE: Switzerland adds Portugal, Canada to mandatory Covid quarantine list

Given the deteriorating situation, are new national restrictions likely for Christmas?

Though earlier in November Swiss authorities renounced to implement new measures on the federal level, telling cantons to do so on their territories, the Federal Council is holding a “crisis” meeting today to discuss whether to implement stricter Covid rules.

According to media reports, the new measures could include limiting the number of participants at private events from 30 to 10, a shorter validity period for coronavirus tests, and / or the expansion of the mask requirement.

READ MORE: What new Covid-19 rules are likely in Switzerland?

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