Switzerland: The Omicron variant is dominant from now on

The Omicron variant will henceforth be predominant in Switzerland, where patients who have received three doses of vaccine have had to be hospitalized, health ministry officials said today.

Switzerland has one of the highest rates of infection in Europe, with young people in their 20s being hardest hit, they told a news conference in Bern.

About 55% of cases in the country are now due to Omicron, and this variant of Covid-19 is soon expected to account for almost all of the recorded infections.

About 40 people who had taken the third dose, however, needed to be hospitalized, said Patrick Matisse, head of crisis management at the Swiss Ministry of Health.

More than 13,000 new cases were announced today and that number is expected to reach 20,000 a day in January.

The country is facing the fifth wave of the pandemic and, according to Matisse, no retreat is visible.

“Citizens need to reduce their contacts,” everyone can do it, it ‘s relatively simple, “he said.

At the same time, Rudolf Howry, head of the cantons’ union of cantons, said some hospitals were on the verge of saturation, but transfers to other hospitals were working well.

About 67% of the Swiss population has received at least two doses of the vaccine and 22% a third.

SOURCE: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ