Europe's news in English

COPY LINK

HEALTH

Deaths in Switzerland’s nursing homes account for more than half coronavirus death toll

The coronavirus has taken a particularly heavy toll on older people in Switzerland, with more than half of those dead from the virus being residents of nursing homes.

Published: 19 May 2020 18:07 CEST

Research by the Tages-Anzieger newspaper shows that a total of 53 percent of the country’s 1891 deaths have come out of nursing homes.

The figure is even higher in some cantons. In Zurich, 81 of the total 127 deaths were nursing home residents – 64 percent.

What we know about the victims of the coronavirus pandemic in Switzerland

The researchers note that the actual figures area likely to be even higher as only three cantons provide data on where a person was living at their time of death.

This means that anyone who was transferred to a hospital would not be counted in official figures, compared to people who died actually in a nursing home.

Coronavirus in Switzerland: Half of Ticino fatalities come from nursing homes

The number of deaths in nursing homes is roughly similar to that in Sweden, where the country has put in place only comparatively minimal lockdown rules.

Coronavirus: What went wrong in Sweden's care homes?

The figures from the study come from just 18 of the country’s 26 cantons, however these account for 94 percent of Switzerland’s total coronavirus deaths.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.

Become a Member to leave a comment.

Could glasses and contact lenses soon be covered by Swiss health insurance?

Green Party Federal Councillor Katharina Prelicz-Huber revealed in an interview with newspaper 20 Minuten this week that the Federal Parliament had tabled a motion to include prescription glasses and contact lenses in Switzerland’s mandatory health insurance scheme.

Prelicz-Huber stated: “The purpose of compulsory health insurance is to provide the services you need to get or stay healthy,”

The motion forms part of the legislation that will be voted on during the 2024 summer session of the Federal Council.

Proposed changes

According to Switzerland’s peak optician body, 4 in 5 Swiss wear glasses or contact lenses at some point.

It’s no surprise that statistics repository, Statista, projects the Swiss eyewear industry to be worth €1.37 billion by 2028.

Currently, glasses and contact lenses are covered for up to 180 francs for children until age eighteen, if they are proscribed by a doctor.

Adults can also claim money back for glasses and contact lenses – however, they must be suffering from one of a short list of specific conditions such as keratoconus – where the cornea is distorted – or severe myopia, otherwise known as near-sightedness.

They must also have been specifically prescribed them by a doctor or optometrist.

Otherwise, supplemental optical insurance must be purchased in Switzerland to ensure you can recoup the cost.

Under the Green Party proposal, glasses, contact lenses, and other visual aids would be covered, regardless of age.

Rising premiums prompt opposition

Not everybody agrees with the proposal.

The right-wing SVP has already spoken out against it, with Federal Councillor Diana Gutjahr arguing: “If we seriously want to slow down the burdensome and constantly rising health costs for the benefit of the population, we [must] show the political will not to constantly expand the benefits of compulsory health insurance.”

A spokesman for the the health insurance advocacy group Santesuisse, Matthias Müller, echoed Gutjahr, claiming that insurance constitutes “financing for extraordinary events such as illness.”

“If almost everyone benefits from a certain service, it is no longer an insurance benefit.”

A date for the vote has yet to be announced.

Url copied to clipboard!