Rudolf Hauri, president of the cantonal doctor’s association, has said that while the current autumn wave may not yet have peaked, he is not expecting the same problems as in the past years.
In an interview published by Swiss newspaper Blick on Wednesday, Hauri said there were “currently no indications that we are heading for a massive overload [of hospitals]”. He expects fewer serious cases and fewer Covid patients to end up in intensive care, mainly due to the high rate of immunity among the population, estimated at 97%.
More
More
Coronavirus: the situation in Switzerland
This content was published on
An overview of the latest Covid-related information in the Alpine nation.
However, Hauri warned that the situation could yet become more serious, especially since coronavirus case numbers are likely to be accompanied by a strong wave of flu cases this winter. Given the staffing shortages in hospitals, this could bring about another stress test for the country’s healthcare system, he said.
On Tuesday, after weeks of rising numbers, the Federal Office for Public Health (FOPH) reported a total of 30,305 new Covid-19 cases for the previous seven days – a slump of 18% on last week. New hospitalisations also went down. Around 9% of intensive care beds are currently occupied by Covid-19 patients.
Hauri however warned against seeing this as the end of the current wave – an interpretation would only be possible around a fortnight from now, he said. He also said the extremely high test positivity rates mean the real number of new infections could still be much higher than reported – perhaps more than 20,000 per day.
More
More
Explainer: How ready is Switzerland for a new wave of Covid-19?
This content was published on
Covid-19 cases are on the rise again, sparking renewed talk of vaccination and a possible return to social distancing in the autumn.
Train vs plane: would you take a direct train between London and Geneva?
Eurostar is planning to run direct trains from Britain to Germany and Switzerland from the early 2030s. Would you favour the train over the plane? If not, why not?
Swiss canton coordinates donations for landslide destroyed village
This content was published on
The Swiss canton of Valais to form committee to coordinate CHF 57.4 million donations for village destroyed by a landslide.
Body of Blatten landslide victim found and identified
This content was published on
The body of 64-year-old man, who has been missing since part of the Brich glacier collapsed on the Swiss village of Blatten has been found.
Swiss watch industry calls for ‘clear solution’ with US
This content was published on
Federation of the Watch Industry calls for clear solution to tariff threat and a swift agreement between Bern and Washington.
Swiss youngsters illegally obtain alcohol in a quarter of test purchases
This content was published on
In a quarter of all alcohol test purchases last year, young people in Switzerland were able to obtain beer, wine or spirits illegally.
Swiss and German virologists raise hopes of nasal coronavirus vaccine
This content was published on
Swiss and German virologists working on a nasal vaccine for Covid-19 say such a technique could be much more effective against the virus.
This content was published on
The doses are to be jettisoned after expiring earlier this week, health authorities said on Saturday. New jabs are on the way for the autumn.
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.