Gallati: “I don’t care how it affects the outside world, what Aargau does” – why there were no new rules – Canton (Aargau) – Aargau

Over the weekend, Health Minister Alain Berset took action against those cantons that, in his view, are doing very little to contain the spread of the coronavirus. In addition to Solothurn and Baselland, the Federal Council also spoke with those responsible in Aargau.

On Monday, health director Jean-Pierre Gallati, canton doctor Yvonne Hummel and Barbara Hürlimann, head of the health department, reported where Aargau is located and how things will continue. Seven questions and answers about the situation in Aargau.

1. How has the situation changed over the weekend?

From Friday to Sunday, 836 new infections were recorded in the canton of Aargau. The canton of Aargau reported 379 new corona cases for Friday, 336 for Saturday and 121 for Sunday. That’s more than 100 new infections compared to the weekend of a week ago. At that time, the canton had reported 720 new cases.

Eleven other people infected with Covid-19 died over the weekend. Four people every Friday and Saturday; Sunday three. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the canton of Aargau has recorded 229 deaths.

2. How is the situation of the crown in hospitals?

The top priority is not to overload the healthcare system, Gallati said. But the hospitals have enough capacity. They had 110 beds in the intensive care and surveillance rooms. A total of 78 patients are currently being treated in these rooms, 36 of them for Covid-19. Intensive care units are 86 percent occupied; with 28 Covid and another 22 patients.

There is also a 33 percent reserve for the 56 vents, Gallati says. Currently 38 patients are ventilated; 22 of them due to Covid-19. Christoph Fux, chief infectious disease specialist at Aarau Cantonal Hospital, assesses the situation differently than Gallati.

3. What is the governing council planning?

Both Gallati and canton doctor Yvonne Hummel emphasized that the crown’s situation in Aargau has been stable for several weeks. “We don’t have an emergency situation,” Gallati said, adding that rushing or ordering measures hastily would be wrong:

Hummel even said: “At the moment, no further measures are absolutely necessary. This is necessary if we had a significant increase in the number of cases or if the health system showed signs of excessive overload. “

So the canton is waiting now. On Thursday, the government wants to report if the measures in Aargau will be tightened and in what way.

4. Why is the governing council waiting until Thursday?

According to Gallati, there is no urgent need to act because the figures in Aargau have been stable for several weeks. “Using the same reasoning that we would have ordered measures yesterday or the day before yesterday, we could have ordered them three weeks ago,” he said.

For him it is important to coordinate any measure with the surrounding cantons. He hopes it is clearer what they plan for Thursday. For Aargau it is important that it does not become an island, that is, it does not take much stricter or lax measures than the surrounding cantons.

“When we film casinos, everyone runs to Zurich,” he gave an example. The same applies to other industries. The accusation that Aargau appears to be simply waiting to see what the others do, he did not accept. He said:

Aargau is at least as active as the other cantons. We think about it every day. But we don’t address the public with statements of intent every day. “

5. What measures could be announced on Thursday?

Aargau will be based on the other cantons. Basel-Stadt, for example, has been in a “lockdown light” for two weeks. Restaurants, bars, sports and leisure facilities are closed. The canton of Thurgau tightened its measures on Monday, bringing forward curfews at restaurants by an hour, introducing a requirement to work from home and banning gatherings of more than 10 people. Also, only people from two households can meet until December 23.

6. What can the population do?

In addition to keeping your distance, wearing a mask, and washing your hands, testing is important. In this way, the chains of infection can be broken and the spread of the coronavirus can be prevented. The canton doctor urges the population to get tested immediately if they show symptoms and to immediately inform close contacts if the result is positive.

7. Does contact tracing work?

Canton doctor Hummel stated that contact tracing had expanded considerably in terms of personnel since the end of September. While 30 employees were still working at the “Conti” at the end of September, as of the beginning of November there were 70. Contact tracing is still in high demand: “We are currently able to contact around 400 infected people every day,” Hummel said. No contact could yet be made with his close contacts. However, the population is now well trained. “Infected people know that they should inform their contact persons immediately,” Hummel said.

The quarantine decree then follows with a little delay. Sometimes this can take more than a week. “This is because we prioritize work and prioritize infected people and disease outbreaks.” Hummel expects employees to be able to return to work on an updated basis from mid-December.