Swiss daily Covid cases double to 2,823
The number of new daily coronavirus infections in Switzerland rose to 2,823 on Wednesday, double the figure reported on Tuesday, according to the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH). This is the highest since the beginning of the pandemic.
Eight deaths and 57 hospital admissions were also registered.
Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic there have been a total of 68,704 laboratory-confirmed cases of coronavirus infection, the FOPH saidExternal link on Wednesday. A total of 5,167 people have been treated in hospital for Covid-19. The total number of deaths associated with Covid-19 disease has risen to 1,816.
In Switzerland and Liechtenstein a total of 1,536,725 tests for Sars-CoV-2, the pathogen of the respiratory disease Covid-19, have been carried out. Over the past two weeks, 9.9% of all tests have been positive.
The FOPH said 5,250 people were in isolation and 11,093 people were in quarantine on Wednesday due to contact tracing. In addition, 14,664 returnees from risk countries were in quarantine.
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On Wednesday Economics Minister Guy Parmelin became the first cabinet minister to go into quarantine, the government confirmed. He has no symptoms and tested negative for Covid-19 on Tuesday.
On Thursday the government will meet cantonal health directors to discuss a tightening of measures, for example the wearing of masks, testing and limiting the number of public or private gatherings.
Under the Swiss political system, the 26 cantonal governments have wide-ranging autonomy notably on health issues.
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