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COVID-19

Delta variant responsible for nearly 80 percent of new cases in Switzerland

The number of infections attributed to the Delta mutation is soaring in Switzerland much faster than originally thought.

Published: 13 July 2021 15:41 CEST
Delta variant responsible for nearly 80 percent of new cases in Switzerland
Swiss Health Minister Alain Berset. Photo: Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP

Swiss epidemiologists predicted that the highly contagious Delta mutation would become dominant in Switzerland, overtaking the other variants.

They just didn’t expect it would happen so quickly.

“The Delta will become dominant in our country within four to six weeks,” Urs Karrer, vice-chairman of the Covid-19 Task Force, said at the end of June.

From roughly 30 percent of new cases in early July, the variant accounts for 77.5 percent already on July 13th, according to data from the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH).

At the same time, the number of new daily infections reported by FOPH on Tuesday stands at 483, triple what it was at the beginning of July.

Contact tracers in Zurich are attributing this spike at least partly to unvaccinated people returning to Switzerland from Spain, but also from Greece.

Both countries, popular holiday destinations for Swiss tourists, are reporting higher infection rates.

READ MORE: Returning tourists fuel Zurich’s Covid case spike

So far, the number of hospitalisations or deaths has not risen significantly.

Is there a way to prevent further Delta-related contaminations?

Health officials have repeatedly said that vaccination is the only hope of curtailing the spread of this variant, as the two vaccines administered in Switzerland — Pfizer and Moderna — are believed to be effective against it.

It is expected that the virus will spread mostly to those who are not vaccinated and, to a lesser degree, to people who have only had one shot of the vaccine, according to epidemiologist Volker Thiel.

As this FOPH chart shows the number of Delta cases has climbed dramatically.

The spread of the highly contagious Delta correlates with more new cases detected in Switzerland, which have tripled since the end of June.

READ MORE: How Switzerland plans to contain the Delta variant

To date, over 3.6 million people — about 41 percent of the population — are fully vaccinated in Switzerland.

That is not enough to develop herd immunity or to stop the spread of mutations, experts say.

The pace of vaccinations has slowed down in recent weeks, but the hope is that more people will get their shots after the holidays.

If that doesn’t happen, however, Switzerland’s vaccination coverage will be closer to 60 percent than the original target of 80 percent set by the government.

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COVID-19

What does the increase in the number of Covid cases in Switzerland mean?

Coronavirus infections are on the rise again, with Swiss health officials and epidemiologists expressing concern over the possible evolution of the disease.

Published: 15 November 2023 15:32 CET
What does the increase in the number of Covid cases in Switzerland mean?

While the worst of the Covid pandemic is long over, and experts don’t expect it to re-emerge with the same strength and health consequences as it had in 2020, new cases have been reported in the past weeks.

Wastewater analysis, one of the means employed by health officials to measure the presence of coronavirus, indicates a viral load that is at least five times higher than usual, with values “now almost as high as in some previous Omicron-related waves,” Christoph Ort, spokesperson for Eawag Institute, which traces Covid viruses in 14 wastewater treatment plants in Switzerland, told the media.

What does this mean?

According to Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), the most common sub-variant in Switzerland right now is the highly transmissible XBB, also known as ‘Kraken.’

The Eris and Pirola variants, which circulated in the summer and early fall are also still present.

While none is nearly as dangerous (at least for most people) as the early Alpha and Delta viruses, which claimed hundreds of thousands of lives in the early stages of the pandemic, there is a reason for concern nevertheless.

“It’s a start of a small wave,” said Rudolf Hauri, head of the Cantonal Doctors’ Association.

“More people are being admitted to hospitals again with, or because of, coronavirus. There are also new cases in intensive care units, but these are generally people with a medical history.”

Should you be worried?
 
While the number of people with serious Covid-related complications is not expected to be as high as previously, the rise in the number of infections should not be trivialised either, infectious disease specialists say.
 
This is especially important for people in the high-risk category — those over 65 or suffering from chronic illnesses — who can get quite sick if infected with the new variants, according to FOPH.
 
This is all the more important as the flu season is about to begin in Switzerland as well, and the confluence of both illnesses, plus other respiratory viruses that typically circulate during the winter, can be very risky.
 
What can you do to protect yourself?
 
Other than adopting the same protective measures as those during the pandemic — that is, washing hands, avoiding close contacts and crowded spaces, and wearing masks where needed — health officials also recommend top-up shots, for both Covid and flu.

READ ALSO: Who should get top-up Covid and flu jabs in Switzerland?

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