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HEALTH

Switzerland officially ‘the world’s safest country’ for coronavirus

According to a new study, Switzerland is the safest country in the world when it comes to the coronavirus.

Switzerland officially 'the world’s safest country' for coronavirus
A Swiss flag which spells out 'us' in all of Switzerland's languages. Photo: FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP

The study, produced by the non-profit Deep Knowledge Group, a consortium of companies and non-profit organisations. 

Switzerland sits in first place with a score of 752, while Germany is in second place with 749 points. 

Four tiers of coronavirus safety

The study ranked 200 countries into four tiers of coronavirus safety. There were 20 countries in the first tier, coming from Asia, Europe, Oceania, the Middle East and North America. 

The United States and the United Kingdom ranked in the third tier along with hard-hit European nations like Spain and Italy. 

South Sudan is officially the most dangerous country in the world for coronavirus infections. 

Photo: Deep Knowledge Group

Economic factors are growing in importance

While the measures a country put in place to stop the spread of the virus – as well as the underlying quality of the nation’s medical system – were important in determining the rankings, so too was the resilience of the country’s economy. 

“Switzerland and Germany achieve the #1 and #2 positions in this new special case study specifically because of their economy’s resilience, and due to the careful ways in which they are attempting to relax lockdown and economic freezing mandates in a fact and science-based manner, without sacrificing public health and safety,” said the authors. 

The study hoped to present an average of each country, while acknowledging that some regions have been much more heavily affected than others. 

In Switzerland, while the German-speaking part of the country has largely escaped the worst of the virus, the French-speaking and particularly the Italian-speaking parts of the country have been significantly impacted. 

Coronavirus in Switzerland: Why have the French and Italian-speaking regions been so hard hit? 

Top ten

Switzerland Germany Israel Singapore Japan Austria China Australia New Zealand South Korea

 

Member comments

  1. How can CH be the safest country when they aren’t doing as much testing as South Korea is doing? Nothing is clear and transparent as long as every person is tested.

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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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