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The Swiss Covid Task Force is calling for stricter measures to contain the corona pandemic. Suggest that bars, restaurants, museums and theaters be closed. Private contacts should be limited to two households.
Is the second lockdown approaching? There are already strict restrictions on public life in Pully in the Canton of Vaud.
There is still no evidence that the measures decreed by the Federal Council on October 28 have initiated a reversal of the trend towards a marked and sustainable decline in the corona epidemic. This is what the federal scientific working group writes in its most recent assessment of the situation. The indicators collected to monitor the epidemic – number of daily cases, hospital admissions, transfers to intensive care units, and deaths – simply indicated a stabilization of the spread of the virus.
To counter the threat of health system overload, the goal should be to cut the number of new infections in half at least every two weeks. Because, as the report says, “the current state of the Sars-CoV-2 epidemic in Switzerland continues to pose a substantial risk to our country: a risk to the health of the population, a risk to the economy and a risk to the reputation. “
New restrictions
For the number of new cases to be reduced to less than 500 per day in 8 weeks, as assessed by the working group scientists, new safety precautions must be introduced. In their November 13 report, experts recommend standards similar to those already applied in some neighboring countries. Specifically, bars, restaurants, sports halls, theaters and museums will be closed and concerts will be banned in a “partial closure”. Only people from a maximum of two households should be able to meet in private meetings.
The working group is also focusing on strengthening the measures that are already in place. Approaches should be sought to significantly increase the proportion of work in the home office. With the exception of practical subjects, post-compulsory education must be conducted entirely online. Appropriate measures must be taken to cushion the adverse effects of distance learning.
More testing and more tracking
However, we note that with the current circulation of the virus, a considerable part of the teaching staff and young people are already sick or in quarantine, ”write the authors of the management report. “Switching to online education can also be a pragmatic option in these circumstances.” However, they recommend that compulsory schools remain open for the time being, “to guarantee the basic right to education for younger students where online education is less practical.”
Experts also recommend intensifying existing measures, such as requiring masks, supporting long-term households and businesses in the implementation of protection concepts, increasing the capacities of the health system, intensifying testing and strengthening contact tracing. In addition, communication must be improved so that the population is aware that it is necessary to break the chains of transmission.
Efficiency through prevention
If, despite all these measures, the number of reproductions does not fall below the target value of 0.8, the working group says that “a temporary closure of non-essential services, as well as secondary schools, should be considered and, if necessary, primary “.
Prevention is the best way to avoid a return to spring lock. “The longer we wait, the stronger the measures must be and the more society and the economy will suffer,” the management report concludes. “The faster we act, the more efficiently we can overcome the crisis.”
