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Although the number of new infections declined during the holiday season, the numbers were still too high, Patrick Mathys, head of the crisis management and international cooperation section of the Federal Office of Public Health (BAG), told the media. communication from the Bundeshaus on Tuesday. Therefore, there is little reason for optimism.
4,197 new cases were reported on Tuesday. The positivity rate was around 13 percent. In view of the mutated corona virus, we must react now. “We can’t prevent the spread, but we can stop it,” Mathys continued.
In Graubünden, Zurich and Valais
So far, according to Mathys, seven cases of new coronavirus variants have been discovered in Switzerland, five of the British mutation and two more with the South African mutation. These new variants appeared in particular in the cantons of Graubünden and Zurich. A case was reported on Tuesday in the canton of Valais.
It is necessary to strengthen the capacities of laboratories that analyze new variants of the virus, said Mathys. This is necessary to better understand which variants are circulating and what impact they have on the pandemic.
The positivity rate for the past two weeks was 13.7 percent for PCR tests and 10.6 percent for rapid antigen tests. In the same period, 586.96 laboratory-confirmed coronavirus infections were reported per 100,000 residents.
The reproduction number of the coronavirus, which indicates the average number of people infected by an infected person, was 0.81 on December 19. To slow the spread of the virus, its reproductive number (R-value) must be significantly less than 1.
3.5 million tests
Since the start of the pandemic, 3,585,459 tests have been conducted for Sars-CoV-2, the causative agent of Covid-19 disease, in Switzerland and Liechtenstein, according to the FOPH. There were a total of 442,481 laboratory-confirmed coronavirus infection cases.
So far, 18,161 people have had to be treated in hospital for a Covid 19 disease. The number of deaths related to the Covid-19 disease was 6,909.
According to the BAG, 26,569 people were in isolation and 35,584 people were in quarantine due to contact tracing. In addition, 3,376 people who had returned from a country at risk were in quarantine.
