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Basel government adviser and health director Lukas Engelberger (CVP) used Corona’s press conference on Thursday to speak to the people of Basel. “The numbers have to come down,” he warns of the number of corona cases, which rose rapidly in the fall. Mobility is still too high, the population has to take the Interior Ministry more seriously.
At the height of the first wave, 119 Covid patients were treated in Basel hospitals, says Peter Indra, the cantonal head of healthcare. There are currently 118. A total of 22 Covid patients are in the intensive care unit in Basel-Stadt. “Due to current development, it must be assumed that the number of hospitalizations and treatments in intensive care units will be significantly higher than in spring.”
Government councilor Engelberger and cantonal doctor Steffen warned at the digital media conference to comply with Covid rules.
Screenshot: Basel-Stadt Health Department
However, almost half of the Covid cases treated in Basel are patients from other cantons (see Engelberger’s statement below). There are still free beds in intensive care units: the occupancy rate in Basel-Stadt is 84 percent, in Baselland 65 percent.
Werner Kübler, director of the University Hospital, refers to the four-stage escalation concept that was developed in the two Basel: local hospitals are currently on the threshold of the second stage of “operation restricted” to the stage of ” emergency operation “. This means that elective operations would be postponed to create additional capacity. The university hospital works in a joint concept with the Baselland cantonal hospital and the private hospitals in the region.
Climbing concept according to intercantonal agreement
Graphic: Basel-Stadt Health Department
Due to the large number of cases and the many quarantine cases, contact tracing only works in a limited way. It can hardly keep up with the accompaniment of quarantine cases, admits canton doctor Thomas Steffen. The contact tracing staff has been increased to 70 and an attempt is being made to increase capacities further.
Because the detection and control of contagion chains is essential to be able to reduce the number of cases, emphasizes the cantonal doctor. The Basel health authorities also monitor protection concepts in shops, hairdressing salons and other businesses. In 20 cases the company had ordered a temporary closure due to defects.
