The number of people dying from Covid-19 can be difficult to establish. Undercounting can occur when another cause of death is assigned to someone who has died from the disease, a particular risk when people die outside hospital. China recently increased the Covid-19 death toll in Wuhan by 50%, according to China’s Xinhua News Agency. […]
Coronavirus: numbers in Switzerland slow further
By 14 April 2020, a total 25,936 cases of Covid-19 infection had been recorded in Switzerland, a rise of 3,683 over the preceding 7 days. However, despite the continued rise in cases there are indications measures to slowdown the spread of the virus are working. New daily infections since the start of April 2020 from […]
Coronavirus: 82 percent of Geneva’s intensive care patients overweight
Out of 101 patients in Geneva’s HUG hospital in intensive care with Covid-19, 83 were overweight or obese, according to RTS. The figures are similar in Lausanne. There, around two thirds of intensive care patients with Covid-19 are obese, something particularly apparent among patients under 65, said a doctor interviewed by RTS. Being overweight increases […]
Coronavirus: most Swiss happy with current restrictions on movement
Despite emerging resistance to government imposed restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of the Covid-19 virus, a majority of Swiss are happy with the restrictions, according to a survey on 5 April 2020 commissioned by RTS. According to the survey, the restrictions on assembly and movement introduced on 28 February 2020, are still viewed as […]
Coronavirus: smoking considerably increases risks
According to Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) smoking considerably increases the risk of becoming seriously ill with Covid-19. In addition, FOPH says it weakens the immune system in general and is therefore a risk factor for infection and urges smokers to quit, or at the very least cut down. Based on findings in […]
Coronavirus: deaths could be more than double some official figures
Given the unreliability of official Covid-19 infection numbers, some suggest looking only at the number of deaths, a number some researchers argue is more reliable. However, there is much to suggest the number of deaths, like the number of infections, could be significantly understated. Emerging data from Italy, Spain and France suggest that confirmed Covid-19 […]
Coronavirus: toilet paper shortage not just down to panic buying
A much covered aspect of the Coronavirus pandemic is the global run on toilet paper. Supermarket scenes of people fighting over rolls, were quickly followed by explanations. Irrational panic buying was the most common explanation for why toilet paper was selling out. If we could all resist the urge to panic buy there would be […]
Coronavirus: Switzerland extends lockdown until 26 April
On 8 April 2020, Switzerland’s government decided to extend the country’s lockdown measures for a further week. In a press release the Federal Council said the measures would be extended for another week and then possibly progressively loosened before the end of April. The measures have proved to be effective with the spread of the […]
Coronavirus: new infections slowing in Switzerland
The number of new recorded Covid-19 cases is slowing in Switzerland. By 8 April 2020 the total number of recorded cases was 23,574 according to Switzerland’s health authority. Comparing the number of new cases on day to day basis can be misleading, particularly over the weekend when counting is sometimes interrupted. However, if the numbers […]
Coronavirus: negative tests don’t always mean you don’t have it
The most common test for Covid-19 involves inserting a swab up through the nose to collect mucus from the back of the throat next to the nasal cavity. The resulting mucus sample is then analysed to find traces of viral RNA specific to Covid-19, a process known as reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, or RT-PCR. […]
