Thirty-six days after the first death in the canton of Vaud on March 5, Switzerland already accounts for more than 1,000 deaths linked to the new coronavirus, according to official cantonal figures compiled by Tamedia editors.
On Friday April 10, the canton of Vaud alone announced 19 additional deaths, for a total of 204 deaths since the start of the epidemic. The canton of Geneva, for its part, announced 8 deaths on Good Friday.
The Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), which is waiting to receive and process forms from cantonal doctors, recorded 805 deaths on April 10 at 8 a.m. Generally, its data are almost 48 hours behind the cantonal figures.
By the end of this first epidemic wave, the death toll in Switzerland is expected to more than double. Experts also fear a second epidemic wave this fall, or worse, a new outbreak in a few weeks, if hygiene and social distancing measures are relaxed in an uncontrolled manner.
According to data provided by the OFSP, the median age of the deceased is 84 years. Almost all of them suffered from one or more pre-existing conditions.
More than 2,800 patients with Covid-19 were hospitalized in Switzerland this weekend. A third of them are under 65.
Switzerland still has one of the highest incidences in Europe, with 283 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, says the OFSP. But be aware that some 185,000 tests have been carried out in the country, or more than 21,300 tests per million inhabitants. In comparison, France carried out four times less tests (5100 / million inhabitants) and Italy 30% less than Switzerland (15000 / million inhabitants).
The fact that Switzerland performs a large number of tests also has an impact on the number of cases detected.
Created: 04/10/2010, 6:17 p.m.
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