Corona press conference in Bern – “Despite the second wave, there will be no economic recession”

3:09 pm

In view of the flood of information on the subject of Corona, the doctor of the canton of the city of Basel Thomas Steffen advises “to be more cunning than the cavemen in us”, who react too strongly to such constant stimuli. And he presented rather bleak Christmas prospects in front of the Bundeshaus media.

No generation has ever been through a pandemic with so much information, said the board member of the Association of Cantonal Doctors in Switzerland. But we are still stone age people who sense dangers immediately. Today, this leads many people to “go from a flash of concern to another of concern.”

Regarding testing, Steffen said that suppliers are forced to make more offers. There is enough evidence, but its use has been declining recently. You have to “go into testing more broadly.” Young people in particular would not like to go to a hospital setting for this. In Basel there are now 40 testing options, including in pharmacies and drugstores of other private providers.

Preventive withdrawal

If you react too quickly to a dip in the curve, quickly return to too few bars, Steffen answered the question of what he thinks of a request that requires choir rehearsals to be allowed again under certain conditions.

Steffen advises a precautionary retreat in the run-up to the festival in the sense of a pre-quarantine so that Christmas celebrations can be carried out reasonably safely in small groups. It would be better to buy Christmas gifts now to reduce contacts. Then you can invite your grandparents that same day. However, a residual risk remains.

Canton doctors as well as the Federal Office of Public Health (BAG) want to communicate recommendations in this regard, as was said in the media event. But he doesn’t recommend “ten for a pot” for traditional chinoise fondue, Steffen said. One set per family and enough space is best.