On Saturday, Giuseppe Conte, Italy’s Prime Minister, ordered the lockdown of the country’s northern province of Lombardy and 14 municipalities outside Lombardy, in an attempt to halt the spread of the coronavirus, according to the newspaper Corriere della Sera. These Italian red zones, which contain a combined population of around 15 million people, will remain […]
Coronavirus: Swiss infection rate 2.5 times Hong Kong
If the Diamond Princess cruise ship moored in Yokohama is excluded, Switzerland makes the top 10 nations most affected by the coronavirus. By the afternoon of 9 March 2020 there were 380 recorded cases of infection in Switzerland, 3 of which had recovered and 2 of which had died. When countries are ranked based on […]
Coronavirus: second death in Switzerland
Today, cantonal authorities in Basel-Landschaft announced that a patient had died from the Covid-19 virus in the cantonal hospital in Liestal, according to RTS. The victim was a 76 year old man suffering from heart disease. The first person to die from the virus in Switzerland died on the night of the 4th and 5th […]
Coronavirus: look for fever and cough, not runny nose, says WHO expert
Dr Bruce Aylward, the Assistant Director-General of the World Health Organization, and leader of the WHO team that visited Wuhan in China offers advice on containing the coronavirus in the interview below by the UK’s Channel 4 News. According to Aylward, one of the most important elements of a successful fight against the virus is […]
Coronavirus: first death in Switzerland
The first person to die from the Covid-19 virus in Switzerland died on the night of the 4th and 5th of March 2020 in the canton of Vaud after being admitted to the CHUV hospital in Lausanne on 3 March 2020. The victim was a 74 year old woman, according to a federal government press […]
Swiss coronavirus tests now partly covered by health insurance
Yesterday, the Swiss government announced that diagnostic tests for the novel coronavirus (novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2) will be covered by compulsory Swiss health insurance up to a maximum of CHF 180 from 4 March 2020. Until this announcement it was unclear who would pay for the tests. Now the cost will be borne by health insurance […]
Swiss health authority adds avoiding handshakes to coronavirus advice
In response to the increased spread of the novel Coronavirus Switzerland’s health authority has issued new hygiene advice, which includes avoiding hand shakes. This additional measure was added recently along with two others: dispose of used paper tissues in a sealed waste bin and always call ahead before going to the doctor’s or the emergency […]
Some in Basel defy Swiss government ban on gatherings
Hundreds of people defied a federal government ban on gatherings in Basel, according to RTS. The Basel Fasnacht, a highlight of the city’s calendar, was cancelled after Switzerland’s federal government banned gatherings of more than 1,000 people in an attempt to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. However, the cancellation did not stop everyone. […]
Coronavirus: map of Swiss cases by canton – updated
Swiss broadcaster RTS has created a list of charts showing the rates of infection over the last 14 days by canton. In addition to the numbers presented above, here are a few other data sources. The first two have charts showing numbers by canton. Tribune de Genève – this gives a breakdown of Swiss data […]
Three years for coronavirus vaccine, according to expert
It typically takes 10 to 15 years to develop a vaccine, however, recent progress in the development of vaccines could cut the time to three years, according to Thomas Cueni, who was recently interviewed by RTS. Cueni is the Director General of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers (IFPMA), the global association of research-based pharmaceutical […]
