The number of coronavirus cases in Switzerland has risen by 776 in the past 24 hours, bringing the overall number of confirmed coronavirus cases to 8,836, the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health reports.
Twenty people have died bringing the number of fatalities to 86 people, it said.
"As many as 8,836 individuals have tested positive as of now, and 86 people have died," the office said. On Monday, the country reported 8,060 coronavirus cases, and 66 fatalities.
Switzerland’s first confirmed coronavirus case was reported on February 25. The average age of those infected with the virus is 51, and the average age of those patients who succumbed to the novel coronavirus is 85. According to the Federal Office of Public Health, the predominantly Italian-speaking Switzerland’s Ticino on the border with Italy, is the hardest hit canton in the country with 53 fatalities and an average of 339.9 illnesses per 100,000 individuals. Followed by Vaud with 263 cases. Next listed among the hardest-hit were Basel-Stadt (240.3), Geneva (158), Graubunden (142.7) and Valais (128.2). Liechtenstein also reports a high level of infected cases (122.5), says the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health that reports data daily from there.
On March 20, Switzerland tightened the rules amid the spread of the disease. People cannot gather outside in groups of more than five people, local residents are advised to abide by social distancing rules, keeping a gap of two meters between each other. This demand also refers to public places and parks, with fines being issued for those disobeying these rules. People older than 65 and all those with fragile health are requested to stay home. The state of emergency remains in place at least until April 19.
Border controls have been tightened, entry into the country has been banned for nationals of Austria, Germany, Italy, Spain and France (with few exceptions). The issuance of Schengen and Swiss visas has been suspended for three months. Stores, markets, restaurants, bars, museums and movie theaters have been closed. Classes were canceled at educational institutions until April 4. The Swiss trade unions said on Monday that they were cancelling the traditional May Day rallies for the protection of workers’ rights.
The outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was registered in central China in late December 2019. The World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus a pandemic on March 11, 2020. More than 150 countries have been hit by this infection. According to the latest data, nearly 350,000 people have contracted the virus and some 16,000 have died.
