Swiss health chiefs insist there's no cause for alarm as Covid-19 cases surge
On Friday, 528 new coronavirus cases were reported in Switzerland, the highest daily number since April. But health officials insist there is no cause for alarm yet.
The number of infections has been steadily climbing in Switzerland, from low two-digits in June, to 528 on Friday. The highest number before Friday's — 469 cases— was recorded on Wednesday.
The authorities have not yet commented on the new figure, which includes 100 new cases found in two elderly care homes in Fribourg — 58 residents and 32 staff members.
However on Thursday, Stefan Kuster, head of the Communicable Diseases division at the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) qualified the current situation as “fragile but stable”.
He said that half of the cases are concentrated in three cantons — Geneva, Vaud and Zurich. With the newly declared cases in care homes, Fribourg is now also among the cantons with high infection rates.
Most of the other regions, however, recorded a low or declining number of infections.
READ MORE: Switzerland: New coronavirus cases highest since mid-April
“The decisive factor is not in the number of cases but how the new infections are distributed in the country”, noted Marcel Tanner, member of Switzerland’s Covid-19 Task Force.
Health experts also say numbers should not be taken at face value but examined from all angles, especially in regards to testing.
As a limited number of tests was available in the spring, at the height of the health crisis, only people with symptoms of the disease and belonging to risk groups could be tested.
But since Switzerland stepped up the testing in the past weeks, screening more people than ever before, more cases have been discovered.
You can access all the latest data here.
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The number of infections has been steadily climbing in Switzerland, from low two-digits in June, to 528 on Friday. The highest number before Friday's — 469 cases— was recorded on Wednesday.
The authorities have not yet commented on the new figure, which includes 100 new cases found in two elderly care homes in Fribourg — 58 residents and 32 staff members.
However on Thursday, Stefan Kuster, head of the Communicable Diseases division at the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) qualified the current situation as “fragile but stable”.
He said that half of the cases are concentrated in three cantons — Geneva, Vaud and Zurich. With the newly declared cases in care homes, Fribourg is now also among the cantons with high infection rates.
Most of the other regions, however, recorded a low or declining number of infections.
READ MORE: Switzerland: New coronavirus cases highest since mid-April
“The decisive factor is not in the number of cases but how the new infections are distributed in the country”, noted Marcel Tanner, member of Switzerland’s Covid-19 Task Force.
Health experts also say numbers should not be taken at face value but examined from all angles, especially in regards to testing.
As a limited number of tests was available in the spring, at the height of the health crisis, only people with symptoms of the disease and belonging to risk groups could be tested.
But since Switzerland stepped up the testing in the past weeks, screening more people than ever before, more cases have been discovered.
You can access all the latest data here.
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