weekly cases and hospitalizations are falling sharply in Switzerland
In this week, 157,683 New Covid-19 cases were reported in Switzerland, a 24% drop from the 208,542 cases reported a week earlier. The decline in the reported number of hospitalized Covid-19 patients has been more muted, falling 5% over the week from 518 to 492.
The number of Covid-19 deaths also fell. 70 Covid-19-related deaths were reported during the week, a number 19% lower than the 86 reported the week before. However, the reported number of Covid-19 patients in intensive care units (ICU) in Switzerland rose slightly from 194 198 in the last 7 days.
This week, Virginie Masserey, head of infection control and immunizations at the Federal Office of Public Health (BAG), said we may have peaked and are seeing a downward trend.
In England, which appears to be ahead of Switzerland in epidemiological development, a second peak that followed the main omicron peak now appears to be trending down, according to data from Zoe database, which collects real-time information from around 800,000 people in England. At the same time, hospital admissions and deaths continue to fall in England. According to Tim Spector, who is helping lead the project, these recurring spikes likely represent the future form of the disease.
When the English data are broken down by age group, it appears that 18-34 year olds were the main drivers of the first omicron peak and 0-17 year olds largely drove the second peak. In addition to Omicron’s reduced virulence, younger age profiles in the majority of those recently infected may be another reason hospitalizations and deaths are falling, while higher vaccination rates in the over-55s could help keep cases and hospitalizations down in the older age cohort.
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