Swiss perspectives in 10 languages

Hospitals unlikely to be pushed to limits by Covid Omicron

Care workers in a blue protective suits in a hospital room
Staff shortages in hospitals are a potential risk of the Omicron variant of Covid. © Keystone/Gaetan Bally

Researchers from Switzerland and Germany say the Omicron variant of Covid is unlikely to push the healthcare systems to breaking point.

Omicron is significantly more infectious but seemingly less severe than the Delta variant, the Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and TechnologyExternal link said on Thursday.

A team of experts modelled different scenarios for the coming months for Switzerland and neighbouring Germany, using three separate viral reproduction rates – 1.3, 1.5 and 1.8 as the worst-case scenario.

“The Omicron variant is unlikely to cause record numbers of admissions to ICUs (…) even under unfavourable conditions,” a statement said.

However, they warn that certain risks remain, notably staff shortages in hospitals and limited capacities in Covid diagnosis.

The main findings appear to back up calls by the Swiss business community and right-wing and centrist political parties to ease restrictions, including the work-from-home rule and the use of the Covid health certificate.

More
vial

More

Coronavirus: the latest numbers

This content was published on Here is an overview of the most important Swiss-related coronavirus data and graphs, which are updated automatically.

Read more: Coronavirus: the latest numbers

The Federal Office for Public Health on Thursday announced 44,842 confirmed new infections and 149 hospital admissions. This is a 20% and a 12% increase in the seven-day average of infections and hospitalisations, according to statistics by the SRF public broadcaster.

The number of patients in intensive care has been decreasing over the past week.

The reproduction rate is 1.2 in Switzerland based on latest data from January 14.

News

Across a red and white striped police line and a grassy area and in front of grey, concrete buildings can be seen a white police van with yellow and blue stripes. The door to the van is open and four male police officers in navy uniforms and black vests that say ‘cantonal police’ are standing next to the van.

More

Switzerland knife attack leaves six injured

This content was published on A man injured half a dozen people with knives, two of them seriously, before being arrested on Wednesday in northern Switzerland.  

Read more: Switzerland knife attack leaves six injured

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

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.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR