You would be forgiven for thinking that the latest numbers of cases of Covid-19 in Switzerland is good news. Our average daily rate is now 7288.4, that‘s a decrease of -8% compared to this time last week and our R Rate stands at 1.05 down from 1.7 two weeks ago.
It seems as if the measures put in place two weeks ago are slowly working. However bear in mind that the „hotspot“ cantons put in place even harsher rules than elsewhere. Currently the Tessin has instated a five person meeting maximum rule, and Geneva has closed its bars and restaurants and non-essential shops.
People tend to experience harsher symptoms around 10 days into the illness. This means that the number of people being admitted into the intensive stations will continue to go up for at least another 10 days (currently by 22%). Hospitals are having to transfer patients from one hospital to another when their wards are full. Currently the intensive stations are 72% occupied, it is expected that they will be full within a week.
The government is asking people to test as soon as they develop symptoms ( a sore throat, a cough or a temperature) putting pressure on test centres and analysis laboratories.
The canton of Lucerne is setting up a new testing centre and is calling for volunteers (with a medical background) to help at this new centre.
Our mayor Beat Züsli has called on the Lucerners to continue to follow the guidelines with regards to wearing masks, working from home and avoiding meeting others when not necessary.
Yesterday the good news spread that Pfizer and Biontech have developed a vaccine which is 90% efficient, unfortunately that‘s not the horse the government backed. They have passed contracts with Astrazenaca and Moderna for a total of 10 million doses of vaccines but these two companies are not as advanced with their vaccines yet, so it may be a while before we see a vaccine in the country.
In conclusion, there is good news (numbers are slowly going down), but the crisis is far from over. So keep on observing social distancing, wear a mask, wash your hands and keep safe.
