The situation worsens: contact tracing has reached its limits – Canton (Solothurn) – Solothurn



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So now, after all: big events in the canton are forbidden. EHC Olten’s already approved game, which will take place next week, is also affected: the canton has revoked the approval of the game, as the health department writes in a message. The decision was made due to the “worrying development” of the past week.

The recall is aimed at easing the health system, because the growing number of cases presents a challenge to hospitals: with a slight delay, the increase in cases is also reflected in the number of people hospitalized. “Currently, hospitals are coping well,” explains Health Director Susanne Schaffner.

“But looking to the future is scary, so we want to act.” Until yesterday, 10 people were in hospital care in the canton, in extreme cases 40 intensive care places could be enabled in Solothurn.

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Contact tracking is overloaded

Contact tracing still plays an important role in the fight against the pandemic. However, due to the high number of cases, it can no longer be guaranteed in the cantons, as Rudolf Hauri, president of the Cantonal Medical Association, explained at a federal press conference on Friday.

“Tracking has reached its limits in many places, you could talk about gearbox damage,” Hauri said. In many cases, the source of an infection can no longer be found.

The Solothurn canton doctor also said Wednesday: “We are slowly approaching the attack. We no longer have to deal with peaks, but with continued growth. Since then, around 100 new cases have been registered in the canton over two days, and the burden is continually increasing.

The people in the index, that is, the infected people, could still be informed by phone until Wednesday, according to the canton’s doctor. However, telephone assistance is no longer possible for people who have had contact with infected people and therefore they should be quarantined as a precaution. It is also not possible to inform these people in time.

The editors are aware of cases where people who were in contact with a person who tested positive for Covid-19 were only reported late by the contact tracing team. In some cases, it took several days between the time a person who tested positive submitted the details of their contact persons to the health department and the time they were informed by the contact tracing team.

However, the people in question entered quarantine on their own initiative because they had been informed by their infected friends. According to the health department, this is in the interest of the authorities: “Index people are instructed to send their close contacts to quarantine. The quarantine orders will be formally made in the next few days. “

Community service providers must provide support

The cantonal contact tracing team currently employs 25 people who have to cope with around 100 new infections per day. To relieve employees, the canton also wants to hire people to do community service. An application was made to the Federal Office of Civil Service to be able to use 10 to 20 civil services, so the health department requested it.

However, it will take a few more weeks for them to be ready for use. The team is now supported by reserve personnel from the administration.

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