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IIn Switzerland, the crown situation threatens to escalate, but the government continues to decide not to issue a nationwide blockade. At its meeting on Wednesday, the Federal Council decided not to tighten the measures, but instead dealt with the aid package for the economy, the volume of which will more than double, from CHF 400 million to CHF 1 billion.
This means that Switzerland remains the only country open in an environment full of strict measures: meanwhile, Germany, France, Austria and Italy, the governments of all the large neighboring countries have sent their populations to national closures. In Zurich alone, restaurants and bars close at 11 pm and no more than 50 participants are allowed for events. Although cantons can impose stricter restrictions at the regional level, and in some cases have done so, Switzerland remains the country with the most flexible Crown injunctions.
Source: WORLD infographic
This laissez-faire strategy has been hotly debated at home and beyond for weeks. Rightly so, because it is proving to be increasingly ineffective. Apparently, the government fails to stop the spread of the corona virus simply by appealing to the population.
The number of infections and deaths is skyrocketing and on Tuesday the Swiss Society of Intensive Care Medicine (SGI) warned in a trademark letter that intensive care beds in the country were fully used. France already offered weeks ago to admit intensive care patients from the neighboring country in case of emergency.
A closer look at the figures shows how dramatic the situation is: in a European comparison, Switzerland has the highest number of new infections per day per million inhabitants with 670 new cases per day (current weekly average). For comparison: in Germany there are 219 cases, in Italy 580 and even in the Czech Republic only 596 cases.
The proportion of positive tests in the total volume of tests is also extremely problematic: in Switzerland it was recently 24.7 percent, in Italy it was 16.3 percent, and in Germany only 8 percent. Only the Czech Republic is worse with a positive rate of 26.3 percent.
Furthermore, there is a threatening increase in the number of deaths. Since Tuesday, Switzerland has outpaced Italy and France on this negative indicator and reports 9.6 deaths per crown per million inhabitants each day, a figure that is currently only surpassed by Belgium and the Czech Republic in Europe.
Highest excess mortality in ten years
To do this, the Swiss “Tagesanzeiger” published an analysis that shows an “extraordinarily high excess mortality” in the country. As a result, in the week of November 2 to 8, deaths of people over 65 were “well above long-term expectation”: the Federal Statistical Office predicted 1,136 deaths for this period, but 1,702 people died. , 50 percent more. . It is the highest value since data was collected ten years ago. The newspaper’s conclusion: “Now it is clear: the second corona wave is more deadly than the first wave.”
The statistics already show a clear excess of mortality during the first wave; at that time a strict lockdown strategy was still being followed. In a week it had exceeded the expected value by 46 percent, but shortly after the blockade came into effect and as of April 20 the mortality rate fell again. This time, with no lockdown in sight, the death toll is unlikely to drop anytime soon.
The appeal from SGI intensive care physicians, who warned that the 876 certified and recognized intensive care beds that are normally available in Switzerland for the treatment of adults, are “currently practically occupied”, must be taken seriously.
In Germany, especially on Twitter, there is a rumor that triages must be carried out in Switzerland. Therefore, we have to weigh which patients have the best chance of survival and who should be denied intensive treatment due to lack of space. It is based on an article in the “Neue Züricher Sonntagszeitung” from the end of October, which describes the overload of a hospital in Sion, in southwestern Switzerland, which is not an isolated case.
Upon consultation, the SGI informed WELT that the “Guidelines for triage in case of resource shortages in intensive care units … are currently not applicable.” Therefore, the triages are not carried out at this time. This is also confirmed by the press departments of the Bern and Geneva hospitals upon request.
In the cantons, however, the situation is currently very tense. And the spokesman for the Insel Gruppe, which runs six hospitals in the canton of Bern, points out that it is not just beds and medical instruments that are in short supply, but also the lack of additional staff to adequately care for the additional intensive care beds.
The SGI further explains that so far it has only been possible to prevent bed capacity from being overloaded because “in many places non-urgent interventions and treatments have been postponed.” In addition, capabilities have been expanded. Intensive care physicians warn: “However, it is of utmost importance to contain the Covid-19 pandemic now and postpone non-urgent interventions and treatments throughout Switzerland to avoid quality losses in intensive care treatments.”
While the triages are not yet taking place, Switzerland has had a debate in recent days about updating the relevant guidelines. This is now complete.
In March 2020, the Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences and SGI published guidelines for triage in case of resource shortages in intensive care units. The document has now been updated to take into account scientific knowledge and experience. It still only applies to admission and treatment in intensive care units, not other areas of healthcare. The guidelines are not yet applied.
