The death toll in Switzerland from coronavirus had climbed to 235 while total cases stand at 13,213, the health ministry said on Saturday, though officials said their worst fears have so far not materialized.
Civil defence workers wearing protection masks check the papers of a driver of a car before he can enter a drive-in test center for coronavirus disease in Luzern, Switzerland March 27, 2020. The sign reads:"Only on advance notification. Close windows". REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann
The Alpine country of 8.6 million people is deploying army medical units at hospitals to help in regions like Ticino, which borders hard-hit Italy, and has began tapping its strategic stockpile of pharmaceuticals to cover rising demand. The public has been urged to remain home, while gatherings of more than five people have been banned.
“The worst-case forecasts that were made weeks ago have not materialized,” said Daniel Koch, head of the health ministry’s communicable disease division. “That’s 280 people who are fighting for their lives,” Koch said. Still, “no ICU is overwhelmed. All still have capacity. We can ventilate more people, but we’re hoping that the population remains disciplined. That’s the only way to avoid a situation in which a lot more patients need to be ventilated.”Like other European countries, Switzerland is pumping money into its crisis-hit economy, and state-backed loans worth 20 billion Swiss francs were made available on Thursday.
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