Today marks the anniversary of the first confirmed death due to the Covid-19 virus in Switzerland, and the first two cases in Lucerne.
In a year there have been 561’068 recognised cases (and probably many more which weren’t tested for). 23’651 recorded hospitalisations and 9’319 recorded deaths. A minute’s silence will be observed nationwide at 11.59 in memory of all the victims.
Switzerland is at number 32 of countries per number of cases but 22 when you look at the number of cases per million population (64,511).
This does not take into account the economic damage (unemployment has risen from 2,6% to 3,7%), the number of domestic violence cases and the mental health issues that have arisen as a consequence of the pandemic.
To date 807’799 people have been vaccinated, representing 3.3% of the population. This is quite slow considering that Switzerland began to vaccinate relatively quickly once the vaccines were approved. This is in part due to the number of vaccines being made available and the fact that the distribution is being organised by each canton separately, meaning some are more organised than others.
With the new variants it is impossible to say when the end is in sight as the number of daily cases currently are levelling out or slightly going back up again.
The pressure on and within the government is beginning to show, with political factions turning on their leaders, name calling and backstabbing taking place.
What is certain is that this pandemic will have changed the way we live and interact for quite a while, and it is unclear when we will return to a “normal” way of life again.
Maybe we can take comfort that after the Spanish Flu raged in the world in 1918- 1920, there followed a gloriously colourful, creative period known as the “Roaring Twenties”, something to look forward to?
At 11.59 today there will be a nationwide minute of silence in memory of all the victims of Covid-19
If you would like to find some support for mental health issues you can read our posts on the subject here.
