Coronavirus: the situation in Switzerland

Source: SWI swissinfo.ch

Switzerland has started easing pandemic-related restrictions. Despite record high new infection figures caused by the Omicron variant, the health system has not been overwhelmed, the government says.

• Switzerland is currently undergoing a fifth wave of the pandemic, with high daily infection figures due to the contagious Omicron variant: 20,310 new cases were reported on February 15 for the previous 24-hour period. A total of 190 Covid-19 patients are in intensive care.

• Health experts announced on February 8 that the number of new infections had peaked. The government’s Covid science task force said the reproduction growth rate had fallen below the crucial threshold of one, namely to 0.82 in the first week of February.

• Quarantine rules and a work-from-home order ended on February 3. The government has proposed External linkeasing additional measures; a final decision is expected on February 16. "Today is a beautiful day," President Ignazio Cassis told reporters in Bern on February 2. "We can see light at the end of the tunnel."

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