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The Covid-19 Working Group recommends that the Federal Council further restrict public life. To quickly cut the number of new infections in half, restaurants, bars, theaters and museums would have to be closed and schools would have to be considered. Experts disagree on the urgency.
Large numbers of people gathered in a confined space pose a risk of infection.
In its latest management report, the Swiss Covid 19 Task Force continues to paint a grim picture of the course of the pandemic. The major measures that the Federal Council enacted on October 28 should take effect. But the daily number of cases, hospital admissions and intensive care unit admissions only indicated that the epidemic was stabilizing, not flattening out. But Switzerland must “quickly and significantly reduce” the number of new Covid 19 cases, the scientific advisory body stressed. This is necessary to reduce the likelihood of the health system overcapacity and to reduce the level and duration of pressure on health resources. Last Friday, the hospital’s capacity, especially that of the intensive care units, was almost fully used. Out of 867 patients in intensive care units, 511 are currently Covid-19 patients and the number of new intensive care admissions continues to rise.
“Keep contacts to a minimum”
The task force agreed that a significant reduction in the number of cases was needed in Switzerland, its chairman Martin Ackermann explained Sunday upon request. This is because it is clear that crisis management is reaching its limits with such a high number of cases at all levels. Therefore, the task force proposes a clear goal: to protect the healthcare system, the goal should be to halve the number of new infections every two weeks. To do this, the number of plays must be reduced to less than 0.8. This would bring the number of new cases to less than 500 per day in 8 weeks. With the current breeding number of 0.91, this would take 5 months.
For the experts, it is clear where the additional measures should begin. The task force recommends that politicians close all halls in Switzerland where many people gather indoors, that is, bars, restaurants, sports halls, theaters, museums and concerts. Even in private gatherings, no more than the members of two households should meet. In addition, measures are needed to effectively and significantly increase the proportion of home offices. “We would like to emphasize that this is not about individual measures, but about a whole package of measures and how we are all stepping up our efforts even further,” Ackermann explained. “We all have to reduce our contacts to the absolute minimum.”
Keeping your distance is still the right thing to do to reduce infections.
School closings should be possible
Universities and technical colleges have returned to distance education since the end of October, but not primary schools. The task force also sees the need for action with regard to schools. The possibility of moving post-compulsory education entirely to the Internet is being considered, except where practical training makes it impossible. With the current circulation of the virus, a considerable part of the teachers and young people are already sick or in quarantine. Switching to online education could also be a pragmatic option in these circumstances. The task force recommends keeping compulsory schools open for the time being, where online education is less practical. However, if the measures to contain the epidemic are not enough, “a temporary closure of non-essential services, as well as of secondary schools and, if necessary, primary schools should be considered,” emphasizes the working group.
Contested urgency
The roughly 70 experts in the task force agree that reproductive value must be reduced and the means by which it can be achieved. However, they do not agree on the urgency, according to the “Sunday newspaper.” In the working group’s management report, this is shown, among other things, in the following formulation: “Waiting to see if the existing measures really develop their full effect, at the present time, would only address the possible risks in relation to physical and mental health, loss of life and increase the economic and social impact “.
When asked, Ackermann confirmed that there were different opinions on the rhythm: some members called for the reproduction value to be reduced immediately with individual, temporary and more stringent measures to achieve a rapid improvement of the situation. Other members were of the opinion that the authorities could wait a bit before deciding on new measures until it is clear how the number of cases will evolve. According to Ackermann, one of the strengths of the working group is that these issues are intensively debated. It also describes different perspectives on society and the economy. The working group advocates that Switzerland also prepare in the event that the measures taken so far are foreseeable not being sufficient. In this case, additional temporary closings should remain an option.
