On 25 June 2020, Switzerland’s contact tracing app, known as SwissCovid, became available for download. Created by a group of specialists at EPFL led by Marcel Salathé, a professor of digital epidemiology, the app allows chains of infection to be traced by informing people if they have been in contact with anyone infected. Countries, like […]
Coronavirus: patients no longer need to pay for SARS-CoV-2 tests in Switzerland
Since the beginning of the pandemic, anyone requiring a test for SARS-CoV-2 in Switzerland has had to pay for it themselves. On 4 March 2020, ten days after the first case had been identified in Switzerland, the government announced that tests could be claimed against health insurance. For many this meant that 90% of the […]
Coronavirus: Swiss authorities not open enough in early weeks, says medical expert
The Swiss authorities should have been more open about what they did and didn’t know about the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the early stages, according to Bertrand Kiefer, doctor, ethicist and editor of the Swiss Medical Review. Speaking to RTS, Kiefer said he believes the public should be treated like adults. A paternalistic approach to communication […]
Coronavirus: support for masks and tracing apps dwindles in Switzerland
After a month of relatively few new cases of infection, the percentage of the Swiss public that supports mandatory mask wearing on public transport is in decline, according to a recent survey run by Sotomo on behalf of RTS. Masks, testing and tracing apps have been a central part of the response to the spread […]
Coronavirus: percentage of Swiss expecting a resurgence drops sharply
A poll by Sotomo run in June 2020 on behalf of RTS suggests 26% of the Swiss public expect a resurgence of Covid-19 cases. When the survey was run in May 2020, 51% of those questioned expected the number of SARS-CoV-2 infections in Switzerland to grow – 14% expected a strong increase and 37% expected […]
Coronavirus: cheap drug substantially cuts severe case death risk, according to large UK trial
A trial at Oxford University suggests an existing low-cost drug can cut the risk of death from Covid-19 substantially. Tests involving 6,000 hospitalised Covid-19 patients suggest the drug can cut the risk of death for those on ventilators from 40% to 28%. For patients needing oxygen the risk of death could be cut from 25% […]
Coronavirus: the rising number of mild cases with symptoms lasting months
Those with mild Covid-19 symptoms are supposed to recover after two weeks. However, a rising number of relatively young people with mild cases report symptoms months later. Johns Hopkins Medicine says that those with mild cases of COVID-19 appear to recover within one to two weeks. For severe cases, recovery may take six weeks or […]
Coronavirus: latest antibody study suggests 10.8% of Geneva infected in first wave
A recently published update to the ongoing study in Geneva to assess the extent of SARS-CoV-2 infection suggests 10.8% of the population may have been infected in the first wave of infections. The study, which tests a sample of the population over time for IgG SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, started in early April 2020. The latest figures […]
Coronavirus cost could rise to 40 billion francs in Switzerland this year
The coronavirus could cost Switzerland CHF 40 billion by the end of 2020, according to the Federal Council. On 11 June 2020, the Council of States, Switzerland’s upper house followed parliament in approving to extend the coronavirus budget by CHF 14.9 billion. The sum includes money to fund a hole in the unemployment benefits system […]
Coronavirus: social distancing measures may have prevented 3.1 million deaths in Europe
A study recently published by Imperial College London estimates measures implemented to slow the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus might have saved 3.1 million lives across 11 European nations, including Switzerland. From 2 to 29 March 2020, European countries began implementing measures to slow viral transmission, such as school closures and national lockdowns, to control […]
