Today, Switzerland’s Federal Council called on cantons with increasing case numbers to take immediate action. It described the epidemiological situation as extremely serious.
This week the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) reported 598 Covid-19 deaths, 11% fewer than last week (675), but a figure that remains tragically high.
Switzerland’s Covid-19 death toll has now reached 5,292 (4,848 laboratory confirmed). Switzerland’s hospitalised Covid-19 patient numbers remain high. There were 2,866 yesterday, a figure predicted rise to 3,109 over the weekend, according to ICU monitoring. Yesterday, intensive care unit (ICU) capacity was running at 91%.
Today, the Federal Council announced new measures to bring new case numbers down. The number of new daily cases has remained stubbornly high at around 4,000 and is rising again in some cantons. The Federal Council would like to see the number of new cases lower ahead of the festive season.
From Wednesday 9 December 2020, stricter rules will be introduced for shops, restaurants and public transport, including ski lifts – more on the new restrictions.
According to the Federal Council, the situation in hospitals is still extremely strained. Non-urgent procedures are being postponed at certain hospitals and hospital staff are under a great deal of pressure.
The Federal Council is convinced that rapid action is the only way of averting the introduction of stricter measures. It will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, 8 December 2020 and make an interim assessment. It may decide on stricter measures if the cantons have not taken the required action, it said.
This week, around 157,000 Covid-19 tests were conducted with test positivity of 17%. last week, around 166,000 tests were conducted with test positivity of 17%.
On 4 December 2020, Switzerland’s 14-day infection rate was 595 per 100,000, down 11% from the prior week.
The cantons with the highest 14-day infection rates per 100,000 are Ticino (857) and St. Gallen (804). Rates in Geneva (555) and Vaud (602) have fallen this week. The rate in Zurich (584) is roughly unchanged – all data from FOPH.
More on this:
FOPH update (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
For more stories like this on Switzerland follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
