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This year there will be nothing to do with a relaxing Christmas break in the Bundesbern. Britain’s mutant virus puts Federal Councilor Guy Parmelin (61) in quarantine, but keeps federal officials alert.
Since Tuesday, stricter rules have been in place across Switzerland: restaurants and leisure facilities are closed almost everywhere, and customer capacity is significantly limited in stores. In any case, the latest case numbers give no reason to give the go-ahead.
The mutant virus is probably already in Switzerland
And now the mutant virus could undo efforts again. The federal scientific working group Covid assumes that the measures implemented will not be enough to stop the spread of the new variant of the virus. In the event that the virus takes hold in Switzerland, the working group is offering the possibility of further measures.
“We are constantly monitoring the situation and then we will discuss what further measures may be indicated,” Working Group chair Martin Ackermann told the media in Bern on Tuesday.
The estimates assumed that the mutation increased the number of reproductions by 0.4, Ackermann said. This means that the number of new infections is likely to rise again dramatically if the virus spreads in Switzerland.
The R-value in Switzerland is currently above 1, despite additional measures taken. In late fall, the R-value fell with the measures taken in late October, said Tanja Stadler, also a member of the task force. But “everything that has been done in the last ten days has failed to bring the R-value below 1,” Stadler said.
The mutant virus has not yet been detected in Switzerland. But the task force assumes that it is already in Switzerland. It is likely that a person with the new variant of the virus arrived in Switzerland on every second flight from Great Britain. Last week there were 90 flights from the UK. “So it is very likely that several people have already introduced the new variant in Switzerland,” says Stadler. Try to keep the new virus within limits. The import of the variant must be stopped, contacts reduced and the number of infections reduced.
British tourists receive text messages
Now it is also crucial to inform British tourists about the quarantine measures: there are thousands of people affected. Most of Britain’s air passenger data in recent days has been collected, said Patrick Mathys, head of the crisis management and international cooperation section at the Federal Office of Public Health. Only a few were missing.
Everyone with a SIM card received information with a phone number where they could report the quarantine. If the address of the stay is not known, tourists are informed by SMS. Otherwise everything works like a normal trip and a quarantine of contacts. The responsible bodies are defined in the cantons. According to Mathys, a large number of tourists who entered the country reported themselves.
People over the age of 75 get vaccinated first
Another important topic of the press conference was the new vaccination campaign. “The vaccine is very effective,” said Christoph Berger, president of the Federal Immunization Commission. So far, no major side effects are known. But there could be local side effects, such as fever or muscle pain.
Because only 100,000 doses of vaccine are available to start with, only patients over the age of 75 and high-risk patients with heart disease, high blood pressure, respiratory problems, diabetes, obesity and immunodeficiencies are vaccinated in Switzerland. High-risk patients may also be younger than 75 years to benefit from priority vaccine administration. It’s important for these high-risk people to be informed or contacted by their family doctor, Berger said.
The second priority would then be people from 65 to 74 years old. It is important that vaccination is not carried out during an acute Covid illness, Berger said. Vaccination can be carried out three months after an illness is overcome. Only in the case of a severe allergy to the components of the vaccine should not be vaccinated.
New vaccination campaign
Preparations for vaccines are in full swing in the cantons; the first vaccinations should start on Wednesday. The Federal Office of Public Health (BAG) wants to accompany and inform the start of a new vaccination campaign.
A new website with information on corona vaccination has also been launched. “Many people still doubt because they are not yet properly informed and do not have confidence,” says Berger. You want to convince these people without pressure that a vaccine is good for them. Y: Vaccination is definitely voluntary.
