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HEALTH

Switzerland: New coronavirus cases highest since mid-April

Switzerland clocked more than 400 Covid-19 cases in 24 hours on Friday for the first time since April 14, but said it was now overwhelmingly under-40s getting infected.

Switzerland: New coronavirus cases highest since mid-April
A man wearing a mask with Switzerland's Matterhorn in the background. Photo: FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP

The Alpine country of 8.5 million people recorded 405 new cases, taking the total to 43,532 since the start of the new coronavirus pandemic. 

Stefan Kuster, who heads the Swiss health ministry's communicable diseases unit, insisted the situation was stable, with hospitalisation and death rates low.

He said the reproduction rate — the number of people infected by each person with the disease — was lower than one.

Through the whole pandemic period, 39 percent of those infected in Switzerland since its first positive case in February have been aged under 40, statistics show.

IN PICTURES: Hundreds attend coronavirus skeptic rally in Zurich

But people under 40 are nowadays accounting for three-quarters of new cases, Kuster said according to Switzerland's ATS national news agency.

Despite bordering northern Italy — the early epicentre of the virus in Europe — Switzerland was not hit as hard by Covid-19 and did not impose as strict a lockdown as some other European states.

Daily case numbers regularly topped the 1,000 mark in March, but hit a very low and stable level in mid-June.

They have been steadily on the rise since then.

The first of three phases easing the restrictions took place on April 27. Bars and restaurants are open again, as are nightclubs in most cities, although some have since become the scenes of mass infections.

Meanwhile as youngsters return to school, two primary-aged classes near Geneva were shut down on Wednesday, with 39 children placed in quarantine after a replacement teacher tested positive for Covid-19.

Switzerland has now conducted more than a million PCR nasal tests for the virus, with 4.8 percent of the 1,070,910 tests proving positive.

From Monday, people arriving in Switzerland from Croatia, Lebanon, Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates will have to go into mandatory 10-day quarantine, according to an updated country list.

The list already includes Brazil, India, South Africa, the United States and Spain excluding the Canary Islands. Belgium and Mexico are being removed from the list as of Monday.

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HEALTH

The essential Swiss websites you need to use for health matters

If you just moved to Switzerland (or even if you have lived here for a while), your learning curve about health-related matters in the country may be steep. These sites will help you find the information you need.

The essential Swiss websites you need to use for health matters

Staying healthy is probably one of your top priorities, but doing so in a foreign country is not easy.

That is why having some reliable resources that you can check out and follow will be helpful.

First: The Local

No, we are not doctors, but we have published a number of factual articles over the years about many aspects of healthcare in Switzerland that our readers find helpful.

You can find a compilation of these health-related stories here

Federal Office of Public Health 

Obviously, when it comes to matters of health, the Health Ministry has lots of information that will be relevant to you at one time or another.

Aside from matters of health policy (which is important for all residents of Switzerland), the site also has a regularly updated Infectious Diseases Dashboard to let you know what communicable illnesses are currently circulating in Switzerland — and how to avoid them.

It also provides age-specific health information and recommendations — for instance, for children and teenagers, as well as for the elderly.

Hospital websites

Individual hospitals in your area are good sources of information as well, and many of them are in English.

You can find there general health information, care and treatment options, online emergency room signup, new medical technologies being used, and other patient resources:

Geneva University Hospitals (HUG)

Vaud University Hospital (CHUV)

Zurich University Hospital

Basel University Hospital 

If you live in an area without a university medical centre, your local hospital is also a valuable source of health-related information.

Appointment booking platform

This website is especially useful for people who don’t yet have a doctor in Switzerland but need to set an appointment with one. 

It gives you an option of choosing a specialty and location, and then displays doctor’s names and addresses, background information about them, and which time slots they have available.

You can easily set up an appointment this way.

Your health insurer’s website

This may not be an intuitive choice for impartial information about healthcare but you may be surprised.

For instance, Sanitas insurance site has information about emergency care decisions, and how to void unnecessary medical treatments.

CSS has health information geared specifically to men and women.

Helsana talks about ways to combat stress and sleep problems.

These are just a few examples on what valuable tips you can find on your insurer’s website.

Websites devoted to specific medical conditions

If you seek information about a specific illness — such as treatment options in Switzerland — there are plenty of online resources for that as well.

For instance:

Heart and cardiovascular 

Diabetes 

Osteoporosis 

Mental illness 

General pain 

Other diseases 

Last but not least, while not related to health, these websites will also provide useful information for international residents:

The Swiss websites that can help you save money
 
The most useful website resources to help you get Swiss citizenship 
 
 

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