Tag Archive: SARS-CoV-2 Switzerland

Coronavirus: the rising number of mild cases with symptoms lasting months

Those with mild Covid-19 symptoms are supposed to recover after two weeks. However, a rising number of relatively young people with mild cases report symptoms months later. Johns Hopkins Medicine says that those with mild cases of COVID-19 appear to recover within one to two weeks. For severe cases, recovery may take six weeks or more.

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Coronavirus: latest antibody study suggests 10.8 percent of Geneva infected in first wave

A recently published update to the ongoing study in Geneva to assess the extent of SARS-CoV-2 infection suggests 10.8% of the population may have been infected in the first wave of infections. The study, which tests a sample of the population over time for IgG SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, started in early April 2020. The latest figures come from the fifth week of testing, which was concluded on 9 May 2020. 

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Coronavirus: WHO changes advice on masks

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently changed its advice on face masks. It now recommends healthy people wear them in public when social distancing is not possible, stating that they could provide a barrier for potentially infectious droplets.

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Coronavirus: Switzerland to reopen borders with EU, EFTA and UK on 15 June

Switzerland recently announced that it will lift existing entry restrictions with all EU and EFTA nations and the UK on 15 June 2020. In mid-May the Swiss government announced plans to fully reopen borders with France, Germany and Austria. On 2 June 2020, it decided to hold off on a full reopening of borders with Italy despite Italy’s decision to fully reopen its borders with Switzerland on 3 June 2020.

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Is the lack of inflight social distancing on SWISS airlines a risk?

Over two days last week, Thailand reported a score of new coronavirus cases. All were Thai nationals returning by air from the Middle East. Otherwise, there have been almost no new community or ‘inside country’ cases since mid-May.

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Coronavirus: Switzerland holds off on open borders with Italy

Switzerland’s Federal Council announced on June 2 that it plans to maintain border restrictions with Italy until further notice as a reciprocal border arrangement with Italy would be premature.

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Coronavirus: 22,000 Swiss deaths with no shutdown, estimate modellers in Zurich

Based on data from the first wave of Covid-19, epidemic modellers in Zurich estimate Switzerland would have suffered 22,000 deaths without the restrictions on daily life introduced in March 2020.

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Coronavirus: number of tests stagnates in Switzerland

The number of daily new cases has remained low in Switzerland throughout May. The highest number of new cases over this period was recorded on 1 May (119). The latest daily number, published on 29 May, was 31 new daily cases. Since the beginning of May the number has been as low as 10.

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Coronavirus: new infections in Switzerland remain low

Over the last week there have been an average of 15 new SARS-CoV-2 cases a day. The first confirmed case in Switzerland was recorded on 24 February 2020. In the week that followed the number of new daily infections rose to 31. Another week later the number of new daily cases was 192.

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Swiss government reveals more on Covid-19 tracing app

On 13 May 2020, Switzerland’s government published more information on the Swiss Proximity Tracing App (Swiss PT), an app designed to slow the spread of SARS-CoV-2. Developed by teams at EPFL and ETHZ, the app uses Bluetooth to detect when your phone comes within two metres of another phone or device with the app. It then records the contact as an anonymous key and the duration of contact, flagging any close contact longer than 15 minutes.

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Coronavirus: the dangers of singing

As Switzerland reopens, the details around how SARS-CoV-2 spreads becomes more relevant to everyday life. Matthias Egger, the head of Switzerland’s Covid-19 task force, stresses the importance of continuing to follow social distancing and hygiene rules.

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Coronavirus: relatively few medical staff infected in Switzerland

In Switzerland, around 3% of medical staff have been infected with Covid-19, based on data covering the period up until Easter, according to Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health.

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Coronavirus: Swiss schools and other establishments set to reopen

On 29 April 2020, Switzerland’s government announced plans to allow schools and other establishments to reopen on Monday 11 May 2020. From 11 May 2020, shops, restaurants, markets, museums, libraries, primary and lower secondary schools and sports training centres will be allowed to reopen. In addition, public transport will operate according to the standard timetable, announced the government.

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Coronavirus: 5.5 percent of Geneva might be infected, according to antibody study

A study done by researchers at Geneva’s HUG hospital suggests a Covid-19 infection rate of 5.5% across the canton of Geneva. Antibody blood tests, run on a randomly selected sample of the canton’s population, suggest around 27,000 might have been infected by the virus, a number 5.7 times the official count of 4,733 recorded on 24 April 2020.

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Coronavirus: the age difference behind lower Swiss death rate

Switzerland’s Covid-19 death rate has been lower than much of the rest of Europe. A lower infection rate among older people appears to be one reason. The rates of deaths among those either recovering or dying have been particularly high in Belgium (40%), France (34%) and Italy (31%).

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