Around 40% of Covid-19 patients admitted to intensive care in Switzerland were under 60 years old, according to the Swiss Society of Intensive Care Medicine (SSICM).
The figures, revealed by Swiss public television SRFExternal link on Saturday evening, show that more than a third of these younger patients did not have pre-existing conditions like diabetes or high pressure, which are known to put patients at more risk during a Covid-19 infection.
External Content
“For the large majority of patients on intensive care units, and these include younger patients, it’s a long process. Afterwards they have to spend a certain time on a normal ward. After that, it’s not so easy for them to simply go back to working again,” Antje Heise, SSICMExternal link deputy president, told SRF.
But there is a difference in mortality rate depending on age: deaths were more likely to occur in the older age groups, with the younger patients more likely to survive, SRF reported.
Staff infections
Meanwhile a survey of hospitals published by the SonntagsZeitungExternal link on Sunday found that by mid-May there had been 2,100 Covid-19 cases among doctors and nurses in Swiss hospitals. The infection rate among hospital staff was therefore low at slightly more than 2%.
The most strongly affected were hospitals in French-speaking Switzerland, which has generally had more cases of the coronavirus. Most infections did not result in complications; fewer than 12 cases resulted in a long hospital stay.
The newspaper survey 20 hospitals with almost 100,000 staff.
More
More
Overwhelming, lonely and stressful – life in the Covid-19 unit in Geneva
This content was published on
A Médecins Sans Frontières’ (MSF) nurse, who has been working at a Geneva hospital, reflects on her daily life at the height of the pandemic.
Swiss money laundering office registers record number of reports
This content was published on
The Money Laundering Reporting Office Switzerland (MROS) registered a record number of reports of suspicious activity last year.
Two teens accused of planning terror attack released from custody
This content was published on
The Schaffhausen judiciary has released the two teenagers from custody who allegedly planned bomb attacks in Switzerland.
OECD: Sluggish economic activity slowing growth in Switzerland
This content was published on
Sluggish economic activity at the start of the year is weighing on growth in Switzerland, with GDP expected to fall to 1.1% in 2024.
Report finds mistakes which led to Swiss government data breach
This content was published on
Mistakes were made by both the government and internet company Xplain in the case of a criminal cyber-attack on the Bern-based IT business.
Swiss government wants better gender balance in federal administration
This content was published on
New Swiss government personnel management targets say there must be even more female managers in the federal administration.
Swiss national science foundation funded over 5,000 projects in 2023
This content was published on
In 2023, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) provided a total of CHF961 million worth of funding towards research projects.
Switzerland invites 160 delegations to June Ukraine peace talks
This content was published on
Russia is currently not among the delegations invited to talks aimed at helping bring about peace in the conflict between Moscow and Ukraine.
Survey: air travel most popular way to go on holidays for Swiss
This content was published on
Despite the climate crisis, flying is the most popular mode of transport for private travel – particularly among young, urban and high-income travellers.
Swiss government to use phone data to identify asylum seekers
This content was published on
From April 2025, authorities plan to be able to analyse data from mobile phones, computers and other data carriers to identify asylum seekers.
This content was published on
In many countries the number of hospital beds has decreased in recent years. This could become a problem during the coronavirus crisis.
Swiss hospitals lose up to CHF3 billion amid pandemic
This content was published on
Switzerland’s hospitals and clinics are facing a financial loss of between CHF1.7 billion and CHF2.9 billion due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Disadvantaged groups almost five times more exposed to Covid-19
This content was published on
Those close to the poverty line are up to 4.5 times more exposed to the effects of Covid-19 than the rest of the population, according to a survey.
Head of Covid-19 task force says distancing measures could last another two years
This content was published on
Unexpected discoveries about a virus scientists still don't know well could slow down development of an effective vaccine, Matthias Egger said.
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.