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In German-speaking Switzerland, dealing with the coronavirus has become noticeably more relaxed. Many people seem to have gotten used to the fact that the number of cases in Switzerland is constantly decreasing. In the Council of States, even a quartet of Länders played on Monday.
But the decline in the number of cases is misleading. Switzerland owes the trend mainly to the French-speaking cantons, which have largely closed public life. In other cantons, the downward trend is stagnating, or the numbers are even rising again.
Two weeks ago there was a change in trend in Aargau. Since then, the canton has tended to report more new infections again. There were 320 on Tuesday, about a quarter more than a week earlier. The number of deaths has risen significantly over four weeks and there are still more patients who have to go to hospital than who leave. The effects of the measures and calls from the Federal Council seem to have evaporated.
Before the holidays, you need a stronger descent.
Experts warn of this development. “In German-speaking Switzerland, with the measures and their implementation, we are currently only achieving stabilization at a very high level,” says Tanja Stadler, biostatistician at ETH Zurich, to “Tages-Anzeiger.” She explains the trend with the fact that the population is no longer implementing the measures consistently enough.
This is tricky with the holiday season. More people will gather during Christmas. The Federal Office of Public Health (BAG) knows that: “We are approaching the holiday season. We need a stronger decline, “Virginie Masserey, head of infection control at BAG, told a news conference Tuesday.
Critical value too high in Aargau
A look at the reproduction number, or the R-value for short, gives little hope for Aargau. It shows how much the virus is spreading in the population. Of the ten most populous cantons, Aargau has the highest R-value.
In the most recent calculation, Aargau has an R-value of 1.09. That means: 100 people infect 109 more. If the value is greater than one, the virus is spreading. If it is below one, the number of new infections decreases.
The French-speaking part of Switzerland is much better than Aargau. The large cantons of western Switzerland make up the bottom of the table.
The R-value started to stagnate ten days ago in Aargau. However, it still has to decrease significantly for the canton to achieve the goal of the Federal Council’s Covid working group: halving the number of cases every two weeks. According to the “Tages-Anzeiger”, it occurs when the value of R is 0.8. Since the Federal Council imposed stricter measures on October 28, it has never been lower than 0.9 in Aargau. With this value, it takes a month for the number of cases to be cut in half.
Get it tested right away if you suspect
The Cantonal Medical Service cannot say why more Aargau residents have recently been infected. The main places of contagion are still in the private sphere: with friends, in family and on private occasions. Outbreaks of infection have also occurred in workplaces, for example in distribution centers, logistics companies, and social and welfare institutions.
The course of the number of cases has been variable for two weeks. No clear trend could be determined, said canton doctor Yvonne Hummel. The Department of Health and Social Affairs is closely monitoring the process and will take action based on the situation. He does not answer which settings are the subject of discussion.
To reduce the number of cases, the chains of infection must be broken again more quickly. This means that infected people must quickly isolate themselves. “That’s why people should get tested right away if they have symptoms,” writes Hummel. Sufficient testing capabilities are available.
You can be tested in all Aargau acute hospitals. Other testing centers, such as doctor’s offices and pharmacies, also perform tests.
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