Tag Archive: Editor’s Choice

Coronavirus: contact tracers now unable to cope in parts of Switzerland

In parts of Switzerland contact tracers can no longer cope with the rising numbers of cases, according the newspaper SonntagsZeitung. Contact tracers have the task of identifying who has been in contact with people testing positive for SARS-CoV-2, contacting those people and requesting they test and self isolate in order to break chains of infection.

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Coronavirus: record number of new cases reported in Switzerland

On 14 October 2020, the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) reported 2,823 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection over 24 hours, a record number. In addition, FOPH reported 57 new Covid-19 hospital admissions and a further 8 deaths.

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Coronavirus: more than 4,000 new cases over 3 days in Switzerland

On 12 October 2020, the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) reported 4,068 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection over 72 hours. The latest 3-day infection figure is 2.6 times the number over the same period a week ago.

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Initiative against Swiss Covid app fails

In July 2020, a group started gathering signatures to launch a public vote to ban Switzerland’s Covid-19 contact tracing app.

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Coronavirus: over 1,000 new cases in a day in Switzerland

On 7 October 2020, the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) reported 1,077 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection over 24 hours.

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Women 62 percent of doctors under 40 in Switzerland

At the end of 2018, there were 23,000 doctors in Switzerland, according to a recently published study. Overall, 41% of these doctors were women. Among doctors aged 60-64, the percentage was 28%. However, 62% of doctors under 40 were women, a figure which partly reflects the higher numbers of women graduating from Swiss universities.

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Rising numbers struggling to pay rent in Switzerland

Nearly 44% of renters surveyed said that coming up with the money pay rent is now harder than it was before Covid-19, according to ASLOCA, a renters’ association.

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Coronavirus: Switzerland seems to be fending off potential second wave

The number of recorded Covid-19 cases in Switzerland has declined over the last 12 days. Over the most recent 14 days, the number of recorded cases per 100,000 in Switzerland was 59, below the figure of 60 used by the Swiss health authorities to define a region as high risk.

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Switzerland adds 18 more regions to its quarantine list

Today, Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) added 18 regions to its compulsory quarantine list. Anyone arriving in Switzerland from these place from 28 September 2020 will be required by law to quarantine for 10 days.

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Switzerland to ramp up seasonal flu vaccinations to cut Covid-19 co-infection risk

As winter approaches the federal and cantonal governments of Switzerland are hoping a larger number of people than normal will get the seasonal flu jab as the spread of Covid-19 continues, according to RTS.

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2500 students quarantined at Lausanne’s hotel school

Around three quarters of the students at the hotel school of Lausanne (EHL) have been placed in quarantine after a number of students tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, reported RTS.

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Confidence in vaccine safety remains low in Switzerland

Compared to much of the world, confidence in the safety of vaccines is low in Switzerland, according to a recently published study. In 2015, only 30% of Swiss questioned strongly agreed that vaccines were safe, ranking it 133rd out of 149 nations in terms of confidence in vaccine safety.

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Chlorothalonil in Zurich’s groundwater above the limit in 60 percent of samples

The banned substance chlorothalonil, which is in some pesticides, has been found to be above the limit in 60% of ground water samples taken across the canton of Zurich over the last 12 months, reported SRF.

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Coronavirus: no quarantine for people entering Switzerland from border regions

On 11 September 2020, Switzerland’s federal government announced that people entering Switzerland after spending time in regions next to the country’s national borders will be exempted from mandatory quarantine requirements should those regions end up with high rates of infection. Cross-border worker are already exempted from quarantine requirements.

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Fribourg hospital under pressure after Covid-19 outbreak

According to RTS, a branch of the HFR hospital in the Swiss canton of Fribourg has reached full capacity after a rise in Covid-19 patients following an outbreak in a local nursing home.

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Switzerland adds 10 more nations to its compulsory quarantine list

On 7 September 2020, Switzerland added to its list of quarantine countries. People entering Switzerland from 55 nations must now quarantine for 10 days. On 7 September 2020, 10 nations were added to the list. These include Croatia, French Polynesia, Guyana, Lebanon, Libya, Paraguay, San Marino, Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates.

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Coronavirus: could masks explain Switzerland’s sharply declining death rate?

In Switzerland, over the three months following 31 May 2020, there have been 11,306 recorded cases of Covid-19 and 91 deaths, a case fatality rate (CFR) of 0.8%. However, up to this date there were 30,862 cases and 1,920 deaths, a CFR of 6.2%. Why has Switzerland’s CFR fallen so steeply?

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Coronavirus: protestors march against Covid-19 measures in Zurich

On Saturday, around one thousand people took to the streets of Zurich to protest against government rules aimed at slowing the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, according to RTS.

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Anti-corona protest planned later this month in Zurich

After protests in May 2020, an eclectic group of anti-corona protestors is planning to protest against vaccines, masks and other measures aimed at limiting the spread of the virus on 29 August 2020 in Zurich, according to the newspaper Le Matin.

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Coronavirus: a quarter of Swiss employees don’t want to be vaccinated, suggests survey

A survey run by the Bern University of Applied Sciences on behalf of the trade union Travail suisse suggests a significant portion of Switzerland’s workforce does not want to be vaccinated against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, reports the newspaper 20 Minutes.

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