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The number of patients hospitalized by Corona has skyrocketed in some cantons since the beginning of October. The Valais hospital already speaks of a “critical situation”. But there are also positive developments.
In March, the cantonal hospital expanded this room to an intensive care unit for corona 19 patients. Now the same scenario threatens again.
The increase in the number of corona cases continues. Since last Friday, 8,737 tests have given a positive result. That means an average of around 2,900 new cases per day. Last week, 586 Covid 19 patients were treated in Swiss hospitals. 97 people were in the intensive care unit (IPS) and 29 had to be ventilated. The army’s coordinated medical service announced these numbers Monday night.
Several hospitals report an increase in patient admissions. At the beginning of October, the St. Gallen Cantonal Hospital treated six Covid 19 patients (including one in the IPS), and by Monday there were already 32 (including 6 intensive). In Valais, the number of hospital admissions has doubled every day since Friday.
The speed and increase in cases with complications is alarming, writes the Wallis Hospital Association. Therefore, the French-speaking Valais hospital center moved to the second stage of the four-stage emergency plan. It closed four of the 14 operating rooms and increased the number of intensive care places from four to 19. Ten of these places are currently occupied, half with corona patients and half with other patients. With up to a quarter of patients needing intensive care, the hospital fears “dramatic overload.” The third stage of the emergency plan foresees the expansion of the IPS to 37 places. According to a spokeswoman, capacity outside the hospital would be needed for level four. To make matters worse, there is a lack of workers because hospital employees are in quarantine.
“Covid is very laborious”
The situation is similar in the university hospitals of Lausanne and Geneva. The number of patients has doubled in a week. The increase in numbers is also seen as worrying in the largest hospital in Zurich. Above a certain limit, the care of other patients will suffer, says Barbara Beccaro, a spokeswoman for the University Hospital Zurich (USZ). “Covid is very labor intensive and takes up additional space. This is a problem not only for healthcare, but also for the economy. “There are currently three corona patients in the intensive care unit; 17 people are treated as inpatients. In terms of numbers, this is still a long way from level of the spring, when a record had to be reported in early April with 32 Covid 19 patients in the intensive care unit.
According to Beccaro, something else differs from the first wave: you are better prepared. “Now there is more specialized knowledge about the disease and its course. This is a better way to prevent steep slopes. “At the moment, I didn’t have to set up a specific Covid 19 station at the USZ. But that can change quickly if the number of hospitalizations skyrockets. In this case, many beds could be available. for patients with a crown. According to Beccaro, space is not the problem at all. It is more difficult to recruit the right staff in the dry market. The spokesperson assures, however, that capacities at the USZ can be increased in a short time.
In Zurich alone, the number of people testing positive is skyrocketing. Last weekend, 1,066 people were infected in the most populous canton. 84 people had to be hospitalized. Many of them are treated at the Triemli city hospital. There the capacity limit has already been reached. There are currently 30 beds available for Covid-19 patients. 28 of them are already occupied. There are also four people in the intensive care unit, two of them ventilated. The hospital had to increase the number of beds for corona patients on Friday. If it continues like this, further expansion of capacity is likely imminent, especially if the other hospitals are also very busy. However, the city hospital is not yet at the level of the end of March. At that time, 19 patients were in the intensive care unit, while 46 people were treated in the isolation room. In addition to the additional staff, medical students were also deployed in the spring. This may also be the case during the second wave, because: A staff shortage at Triemli City Hospital cannot be ruled out either.
Pessimistic epidemiology
There are 6353 free beds in hospitals in Switzerland. However, the critical size is intensive care settings. According to an ETH summary, hospitals currently have 1,077 such places. However, like the USZ and Triemli, many hospitals can expand their capacities if necessary. If the attack continues, hospitals probably would not have to postpone urgent operations, as they did in the spring. This would free up additional capacity for Covid-19 patients. At the end of March, the proportion of patients without Covid-19 in intensive care units was 26 percent. It is currently 87 percent. At Winterthur Cantonal Hospital, however, they want nothing to do with a reduction in medical services. Unlike spring, operations and treatments that have nothing to do with Covid-19 should not be canceled.
Epidemiologist Isabella Eckerle from the University of Geneva is very pessimistic about the current situation. She was convinced that Switzerland would have to face two problems in a few weeks, she wrote on Twitter on Saturday: the inevitability of a second, very costly and economically disastrous lockdown, and the award criteria for intensive care places.
