First case of Indian Covid-19 variant detected in Switzerland
The first case of the Indian variant of Covid-19 has been discovered in Switzerland, the Federal Office of Public Health has announced on Twitter. The case involves a passenger who was in transit at an airport.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA/ts
The addition of India to the list of countries at risk is now being discussed owing to the rapid spread of the variant in the country, the office said on Saturday. Currently only Swiss citizens or people with a residence permit from India are allowed to enter Switzerland from India.
The health office said the sample with the Indian coronavirus mutation dated from the end of March. The passenger had entered Switzerland from a European country as a transit passenger and not directly from India.
External Content
In der Schweiz wurde der erste Fall mit der indischen COVID-19-Variante gefunden. Es handelt sich um einen Passagier, der über einen Transitflughafen eingereist war. Die Konsultation darüber läuft, Indien auf die Risikoliste zu setzen.#CoronaInfoCHExternal link#CoronavirusExternal link
The Indian variant has already been detected in Britain and Belgium. In Belgium, 21 Indian students who arrived in mid-April via Paris’s Charles de Gaulle airport tested positive for the variant and were placed in quarantine.
According to several experts, they may have been victims of a “super spreader”, perhaps within their group, during the bus journey from the Paris region to Belgium.
On Friday India reported the world’s highest daily tally of coronavirus infections for a second day, surpassing 330,000 new cases, as it struggles with a health system overwhelmed by patients and plagued by accidents.
Deaths in the past 24 hours also jumped to a record 2,263, the health ministry said, while officials across northern and western India, including the capital, New Delhi, warned that most hospitals were full and running out of oxygen.
A more infectious variant of the virus that originated in India may have helped accelerate the surge, experts said.
Britain, Canada, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates have banned flights from India.
India, a major vaccine producer, has begun a vaccination campaign but only a tiny fraction of its population of 1.39 billion has received a dose, with experts saying supplies are scarce.
More
More
Coronavirus: the situation in Switzerland
This content was published on
An overview of the latest Covid-related information in the Alpine nation.
This content was published on
Nemo brought the Eurovision Song Contest to Switzerland with a victory on Saturday evening in Malmö, Sweden. It is Switzerland's third victory in the history of the music contest.
Switzerland abstains from vote on Palestinian bid for full UN membership
This content was published on
On Friday, Switzerland abstained from the vote at the General Assembly on granting the Palestinians new rights at the United Nations (UN).
Protein in abdominal fat could help shape obesity treatment
This content was published on
The study analysed fat cells from different locations in the body, and found that those in the abdomen have unique properties.
North African asylum claims fall after rapid Swiss processing
This content was published on
The accelerated procedure, now out of its test phase, has resulted in a significant drop in applications from North African countries.
This content was published on
The artist's song "The Code" focuses on their journey as a nonbinary individual. It is one of the favourites to win this year's contest.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.