In the seven days to 31 July 2020, the reported number of new SARS-CoV-2 infections recorded in Switzerland was 1,078, 40% more than the 772 cases recorded the week before.
Over the weeks prior to this there were 589 and 692 new cases, according to worldinfometer.com.
The number of new cases this week is at a level not seen since April 2020. The current number of new cases is at the level of mid March 2020 before the growth in the number of infections took off and certain businesses and schools were forced to close.
Since the start of June 2020, the cantons with the highest per capita infection rates have been Geneva, Jura, Valais, Fribourg, Zug, Vaud, Zurich, Schwyz, Uri and Aargau, according to corona-data.ch. Geneva and Jura have led the way with the highest rates of infection in Switzerland since 1 June 2020.
Much of the recent rise is due to clusters of infections found in people frequenting nightclubs and bars. This week reports emerged of a cluster of infections that were traced to the Rooftop 42 bar in Geneva and a bar in the town of Fribourg, according the the newspaper 20 Minutes.
Together with testing, tracing is the first line of defence for halting the spread of the virus. However, in Geneva, some bar and nightclub owners have not been playing ball. One of the key requirements for fast effective tracing is a record of the contact details of all patrons. Clubs and bars must ensure the information given is not fake, a problem encountered by contact tracers after a cluster of infections was connected to a nightclub in Zurich in June 2020.
Last week, Geneva’s administration took measures to improve compliance and threatened to use the law against errant establishments with sanctions that include fines and forced closure.
By 31 July 2020, there were 35,232 Covid-19 cases and 1,980 deaths in Switzerland, according to worldinfometer.com.
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