One of the biggest challenges during the coronavirus outbreak will be ensuring there are enough qualified staff and equipment to keep the worst affected patients alive. Thierry Fumeaux, head of the Swiss Society of Intensive Medicine, told RTS there are 82 intensive care units (ICU) across Switzerland. These have a combined 850 places, of which […]

Earlier this week, Switzerland restricted coronavirus testing. However, some may be unaware of how restrictive the testing is now. For example, a 60 year old man with a cough, high temperature and breathing difficulties who isn’t in a high risk group (suffering from hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease or immunosuppression), isn’t a health […]

This afternoon, Switzerland’s government announced a series of measures in response to the coronavirus. Gatherings of 100 or more people have been banned. Restaurants, bars and nightclubs must not exceed 50 people and remain apart. Children are to stop going to school, however, the cantons must make the final decision. Schools can stay open if […]

At a press conference this afternoon, Swiss federal government officials advised the cantons to effectively close schools. According to Alain Berset, children are to stop going to school, however, the cantons must make the final decision. Schools can stay open if they have fewer than 50 people in them, a measure designed to give teachers […]

On 12 March 2020, according to the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), there were 815 confirmed cases in Switzerland. There are obvious challenges to this figure. Possibly the most important is the time lag between infection and a confirmed case. On average, there are 5.1 days between catching the virus and the onset of […]

The coronavirus has claimed its fourth victim in Switzerland. A 54 year old man died yesterday in Binningen hospital in the canton of Basel-Landschaft, according to the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH). The man attended an evangelical church gathering of 2,000 people held between 17 and 24 February 2020 in the French city of […]

Switzerland’s government and health officials presented a coronavirus update yesterday. Key elements of the presentation are set out below. The full coronavirus press update can be viewed above in German. Closing borders is now pointless Patrick Mathys, who is leading the coronavirus response at the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), said epidemiologically that closing […]

By 6pm on 11 March 2020 there were 1,225 recorded cases of infection in Switzerland. When countries are ranked based on infection rate (cases / population), Switzerland now ranks ahead of China. Only Italy, South Korea, Iran and Norway have higher per capita infection rates than Switzerland. Coronavirus infection ratesInfogram Given the high rate of […]

The health authorities in Switzerland have decided to limit coronavirus tests to those over 65 or those with existing health problems that pose a higher risk of a deadly outcome. The list of existing health problems includes hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, chronic respiratory disease, a weakened immune system or cancer. In practice, this is likely […]