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COVID-19

2G: Switzerland targets unvaccinated with new Covid measures

Switzerland will step up anti-Covid measures on Monday with a return to working from home and curbs on the unvaccinated, as the country battles an intense fifth wave of the virus.

Published: 18 December 2021 14:01 CET
Swiss Interior and Health Minister Alain Berset gestures during a press conference announcing new measures against the coronavirus. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)
Swiss Interior and Health Minister Alain Berset gestures during a press conference announcing new measures against the coronavirus. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)

The new measures come as authorities anticipate the arrival of the highly-mutated Omicron variant, believed to be more contagious than previous strains.

READ MORE: Switzerland announces new Covid measures to apply from Monday

“Only people who have been vaccinated or cured will have access to inside spaces at restaurants, cultural establishments and sports and leisure facilities, as well as to indoor events,” the country’s Federal Council said in a statement.

Private gatherings will be limited to 10 people, including children, if anyone among the group is not vaccinated or cannot show proof of recovery.

READ MORE: Switzerland to relax arrival test rules from Monday

The measures are aimed at preventing new infections among the unvaccinated “because they more easily transmit the virus and are more frequently faced with complications”, it added.

The vast majority of patients in intensive care in Switzerland, as elsewhere, are unvaccinated. Their number “has tripled in a month and a half”, Health Minister Alain Berset told reporters.

As of Monday, Switzerland had at least 300 Covid patients in intensive care, which it sees as a critical development. “This figure will increase to 350 or 400 by the end of the year,” the statement said.

More than 66 percent of Switzerland’s population of 8.6 million has been vaccinated, with Pfizer and Moderna jabs authorised for use in the country.

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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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