Many dual citizens bring the corona virus back to Switzerland from their holidays. The situation in Southeastern Europe is particularly critical. As Blick reported, numerous infected Swiss Kosovars have already been transferred to Switzerland via Rega. The local hospitals are increasingly in distress.
In fact, the corona situation in Kosovo is critical: 36 deaths related to Covid-19 were recorded on Saturday alone. That is more than ever since the beginning of the pandemic. There were 152 within the past week. For comparison: 32 corona deaths were recorded in Switzerland last week. Four times as many people live in Switzerland than in Kosovo.
Every sixth test positive
According to the Kosovar Ministry of Health, young people are also among the victims. The number of deaths has also increased significantly compared to the previous weeks, as «Bota Sot» writes. The number of new infections remains high. With 1,500 to 2,500 cases a day, new corona infections are almost comparable to Switzerland, which is significantly larger in terms of population.
87,903 tests were carried out in Kosovo last week. 14,355 of them were positive. This means that around every sixth test was positive.
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More than a thousand patients need oxygen
The vaccination campaign in Kosovo is progressing slowly. According to the latest government figures, 808,078 vaccine doses had been administered by Monday. Only 269,000 people have taken both doses. That is around 14 percent of the total population.
In addition to the number of infections, the number of hospital admissions is also increasing in Kosovo. As a result, the authorities recently even had to increase bed capacity. There are currently 1259 corona patients in hospitals in Kosovo. 1060 of them need oxygen therapy. If necessary, the government wants to set up camp beds in order to be able to care for all patients.
Night curfew, entry rules tightened
Health Minister Arben Vitia (47) speaks of an “explosion” in connection with the development of the corona numbers. The only thing that gives him hope at the moment is the number of people who have recovered. “The good news is that today, some time after this explosion began, we have more layoffs than admissions of patients with Covid-19,” the 47-year-old said on Tuesday.
In order to put a stop to the rising corona numbers, a night curfew has been in effect since Monday. In addition, the start of school was postponed from the beginning of September to the middle of the month. The conditions for entry at the airport are also to be tightened. From September 6th, people entering Kosovo, regardless of their nationality, must present proof of vaccination, a negative PCR test or an antibody test. Otherwise, they have to be in isolation for seven days.
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