This afternoon, Switzerland’s health authority announced a fifth person in Switzerland had contracted the new coronavirus Covid-19. The announcement follows another this morning announcing three new cases.
The latest case involves a man in the canton of Aargau who arrived back in Switzerland after spending time in northern Italy. Like the others he has been placed in isolation in a local hospital and is coping well with the infection. The man is in Aarau Cantonal Hospital.
The 26-year-old man, who arrived back a week ago, spent time in Verona. After arriving back in Switzerland he stayed at home, according to the authorities. Those who had contact with the man have been contacted and quarantined, they said.
A press release by the canton of Aargau said 45 tests samples had be taken. 30 were negative and 15 were still being analysed.
Later in the day, further cases were reported in the cantons of Zurich, Basel-City and Vaud, according to RTS, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to eight by the end of Thursday.
“In view of the rising number of confirmed cases around the world, and particularly in northern Italy, it is likely that further cases will occur in Switzerland. The medical services are well prepared to identify and deal with suspected cases and treat further patients”, said FOPH.
Over the last week, Italy has jumped from a handful of cases to 528 cases (7pm on 27 February 2020). Italy now trails only China, South Korea and the Diamond Princess cruise ship for the number of recorded cases of infection.
A webpage showing the number of cases around the world can be viewed here.
A hotline has been set up and a campaign explaining hygiene measures will be launched soon. The hotline (+41 58 463 00 00) is open daily from 8am until 6pm.
FOPH recommends regular hand washing with soap and water or hand sanitiser. In addition, it recommends sneezing into a paper tissue or the crook of your arm – sneezing into your hands risks spreading the virus. If you think you might have caught the virus, contact your doctor, first by phone.
More on this:
FOPH press release (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
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