Coronavirus in Switzerland: What you Need to Know

Coronavirus, also known as the covid-19 virus has taken the world by storm forcing countries to adopt stringent measures to contain the menace.

WHO (World Health Organization) has declared a worldwide health crisis over coronavirus which started in Wuhan city China.

So far, the disease has claimed the lives of over 2,700 people with over 80,000 infection cases reported across the globe.

In this post, we will have a comprehensive analysis of coronavirus.

Further, we will discuss the myths involved, and establish what Les Elfes is doing to guarantee that visitors are safe.

What is Coronavirus?

Coronavirus is a group of viruses that can trigger illnesses such as SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) the common cold, and MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome.)

While there is no comprehensive information about the virus, public health organizations such as CDC (centers for disease control,) and the WHO (World Health Organization) are observing the situation closely and releasing updates on their websites.

These organizations have also given prevention and treatment proposals to help deal with the disease.

What are the Symptoms of Coronavirus?

Signs of coronavirus infection can appear between two to 14 days following exposure. These include:

Fever
Difficulty in breathing or shortness of breath
Cough

Coronavirus symptoms can either be mild or severe and often results in death. Researchers are still trying to understand this disease.

However, preliminary findings show that older people or those with an underlying medical condition often present severe symptoms.

When should you see a Doctor?

Reach out to your doctor immediately you notice the above symptoms and suspect it could be the coronavirus.

Let your doctor know if you’ve traveled overseas recently. You may want to call the doctor early in advance and inform them about your signs and symptoms.

They should be able to call you in for further tests.

What causes Coronavirus?

Studies are still ongoing to get conclusive details on how this disease is spread.

However, experts believe that it’s spread when someone gets into contact with an infected person.

It can be spread through respiratory droplets discharged when an infected person either sneezes or coughs.

It’s still not clear whether you can be infected from touching surfaces that infected persons have touched.

What Risk Factors?

These include:

Residence or having traveled to China recently

Older people or those who suffer from various medical conditions can be at a higher risk of experiencing severe symptoms.

These include people suffering from heart-related complications and diabetics.

Getting into close contact with someone who is infected with the coronavirus.

For instance, when a healthcare worker or family member looks after infected persons

Prevention Tips

There may be no known vaccine available to prevent coronavirus infection. However, there is a lot you can do to reduce our risk of getting infected.

Centers for disease control and the world health organization have released preventive measures as follows. Adhere to them to avoid respiratory viruses.

Wash your hands often and thoroughly with soap and water. You can also use a hand sanitizer containing a high level of alcohol.

Avoid touching your nose, eyes, and mouth with unclean hands

Keep your nose and mouth covered with tissue or your elbow every time you sneeze or cough
Ensure the surfaces you touch often are well cleaned and sanitized

Avoid getting into close contact with a sick person. Experts say that sick persons should be quarantined immediately

Stay away from school, work, or other public areas when you get sick

Don’t share glasses, beddings, dishes, or any other domestic items if you are sick

Apart from contacting your doctor if you notice the above-mentioned symptoms, WHO recommend that you:

Avoid getting into contact with living animals or surfaces they could have touched especially when visiting live markets where coronavirus cases have been reported

Avoid eating undercooked or raw animal organs or meat

What about Traveling?

If you are planning an international trip you need to check for travel advisories.

Reach your doctor especially if you have any existing health conditions that put you at risk of contracting respiratory complications and infections.

How Destructive is Coronavirus?

As we’ve mentioned above, the number of deaths so far stands at more than 2,700.

This has exceeded the deaths recorded during the SARS outbreak of 2002-2003 which had also emanated from China.

SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) death toll stood at approximately 9% of the infected persons.

This means that 800 people died across the world with China alone recording more than 300 deaths.

While MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) was more destructive, it didn’t escalate widely.

A third of infected persons died from the disease. Unlike SARS, coronavirus has spread more extensively in China regarding case numbers.

Still, WHO reports that the mortality rate is much lower standing at roughly 2%

Where have coronavirus cases been recorded?

A big percentage of coronavirus outbreak and deaths have been reported in China with a special focus on Hubei province.

Deaths have also been confirmed in the Philippines, Hong Kong, France, Jpan, South Korea, Iran, Italy, and Taiwan.

The coronavirus has escalated in other countries along the Asia-Pacific region as well as Africa, the Middle East, and North America.

Many of the cases reported outside of China are from people who traveled recently to the country.

Still, human to human transmission cases have been reported in various questions.

What steps have been taken to Stop Spreading?

Scientists and researchers across the world are trying to establish a vaccine. However, they have indicated that it will only be available for bulk circulation after 2021.

Chinese authorities, on the other hand, have not only secured Wuhan, but they have also restricted travel between smaller cities in China.

Global airlines have called off flights to China and some countries have withdrawn their citizens from Wuhan.

Other countries have outlawed the entry of Chinese citizens in their region.

Coronavirus Statistics in children

Studies indicate that only 0.2% of kids and teenagers aged between 10 and 19 years have been infected worldwide.

Out of these, no fatalities have been reported. No infections have been reported in children between 0 to 9 years.

What has Les Elfes done about this situation?

Following this outbreak, Les Elfes, a holiday camping resort has been on high alert to guarantee that visitors are safe. The facility has also adopted tough scanning and measures within its entry points.

Further, Les Elfes is prepared to take care of a situation where a coronavirus case is suspected. It’s worth noting that children are less susceptible to the coronavirus.

This has been indicated clearly in some of the letters the center has circulated to clients. The latest statement from the group founder and CEO Mr. Philippe Stettler was as follows.

Dear Client,

This is the fourth statement regarding the evolution of the coronavirus, now named Covid-19.

Since last Friday I have been in touch directly with all of our clients from South East Asia and beyond, there have been developments which will be addressed, for Les Elfes we have been operating as normal, as per today:

The Swiss government has not issued any bans against visitors from visiting the country. Groups can still make arrangements to visit the country and engage in their planned activities.

So far, Switzerland is still among the safest country to visit amid all the confusion surrounding the coronavirus.

At Les Elfes the situation remains the same. Our camp nurse is still checking students (and staff) on arrival

The Swiss Government does not ban any group from any country in the world to enter Switzerland.

Switzerland remains one of the safest places in the world

The WHO has hailed tremendous progress in the fight against the virus

Attached is a link from CNN Asia, informing that a case mortality rate of 2.3% this is higher than influenza but far lower than SARS ( 9.6% ) and MERS ( 35%) https://edition.cnn.com/asia/live-news/coronavirus-outbreak-02-19-20-intl-hnk/index.html

A statement from the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finds that 80.9% of infections are classified as mild, 13.8% as severe and only 4.7% as critical.

The number of deaths among those infected, known as the fatality rate, remains low but rises among those over 80 years old. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-51540981

I am still of the opinion that we all must carry on as normal remain with firm measures in place for checking, and respond should the need arise

I am at your disposal for any further information you may need

Previous letters that Les Elfes released showed that:

“The OFSP, Federal Office of Public Health, published the fact that Switzerland is 100 % prepared in case of the arrival of coronavirus and informs that the risk is extremely low.”

“Our camp nurse is on location 24/7 to test all students (and staff) on arrival and we have a procedure in place should any student present with a fever or flu-like symptoms.”

Switzerland has one of the highest and best levels of care. This way, you can be sure that any cases will be handled appropriately to ensure everything is under control. The country has not been placed under any block list.

As a matter of importance we advocate for and encourage children to practice regular hand washing practices. Further, we have adopted measures to guarantee maximum hygiene at the camp. For instance, our cleaners disinfect rooms thoroughly before the kids check in and after they have checked out.

“The Swiss Government does not ban any group from any country in the world to enter Switzerland”

Dispersing the Myths

There have been numerous myths surrounding the coronavirus case as seen below.

Antibiotics can be used to treat Coronavirus

Antibiotics are only effective in bacteria-based diseases and won’t work on viruses. However, patients with a bacterial based infection will get an antibiotic recommendation.

Herbal Remedies are Effective for Treating Coronavirus

As at not, no particular medicine has been endorsed as effective in treating coronavirus according to the World Health Organization.

WHO also goes on to say that: “Those infected with the virus should receive appropriate care to relieve and treat symptoms, and those with severe illness should receive optimized supportive care,”