Almost 2,000 Covid cases recorded

A spectator is tested for the coronavirus before a Super League soccer match Keystone / Samuel Golay

There was a big jump in the number of coronavirus infections and hospitalisations in Switzerland on Tuesday.

There were 1,910 new cases, up 80% on last Tuesday, according to Federal Office of Public Health statisticsExternal link. Hospitalisations totalled 287, that’s 46% more than a week ago.

However, only about 8% the beds in intensive care units are currently occupied by Covid patients, according to the health office.

There was also one additional death over the past 24 hours.

In terms of vaccinations, almost half of the population is now fully vaccinated (49.3%).

The statistics come ahead of a Swiss government meeting on Wednesday to decide whether coronavirus measures in Switzerland should be relaxed further.

In a newspaper interview last Sunday, Interior Minister Alain Berset mentioned the possibility of relaxing restrictions “in a few weeks”. However, he stressed that the government’s main aim was to avoid another lockdown.

Key was how the epidemiological situation developed, given that the more contagious Delta variant was circulating in Switzerland, he said.

Tuesday’s data showed that the Delta variant made up 97.5% of the virus variants in circulation.