Covid is raging in the Middle Kingdom – What the high wave of infections in China means for Switzerland – News


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The wave of contagion in China is keeping the world busy. However, there are unlikely to be any serious consequences for Switzerland.

The infection rate in China is going through the roof. After the Communist Party around President Xi Jinping abandoned the zero-Covid strategy, what the infectiologist Jan Fehr from the University of Zurich describes as a “humanitarian disaster” happened: A strongly circulating virus meets a population with insufficient vaccination protection.

It is unclear how high the number of cases and deaths in China actually are. The official reports give a distorted picture. The latest report from the Health Commission as of December 24th assumes only 4128 infections. For comparison: The British analysis company Airfinity estimates that in the People’s Republic currently only around 5000 people die of Corona every day. In addition, more than a million people are said to be infected every day – a number that could triple in the next few weeks.

“China no longer conducts mass tests and no longer reports asymptomatic cases,” explains Louise Blaire, an expert in biochemical immunology and chief analyst at Airfinity, explaining the numerical discrepancy. The WHO also takes the same line and criticizes the insufficient data.

Italy switches to defensive mode

So the virus is raging in China. And with every contagion comes the possibility of mutation. This, in turn, fuels fears that a new variant could spread in this country and bypass immunity – similar to what happened with Delta and Omikron.

Legend:

Numerous media reports that the hospitals in China are currently overloaded due to the immense wave of infections.

REUTERS/Aly Song

If you look at the reactions of different countries, this does not appear to be out of thin air. For example, the USA, Japan, India and Taiwan have already imposed entry restrictions. And a first government has also pushed ahead in Europe: Italy requires people who want to enter China from a negative corona test.

The EU and Switzerland are refraining from entry restrictions


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Because the virus is spreading explosively in China, the health committee of the European Union met for an emergency meeting on Thursday. The aim is to coordinate the measures against the pandemic spreading in China.

Italy insisted in advance that the EU states should follow its example and restrict entry for people coming from China. However, the government around the new Prime Minister Georgia Meloni has run up against its concerns: the EU is refraining from such restrictions.

France: No scientific evidence

This is not surprising, since resistance to the Italian initiative formed early on. France, for example, had announced that border controls were unnecessary: ​​”From a scientific point of view, there is no reason for the reintroduction of border controls,” said Brigitte Autran, head of the Health Risk Assessment Committee.

For Germany, the situation in China alone is also no reason for entry restrictions. However, the situation is being monitored very carefully, said a spokesman for the Federal Ministry of Health.

Switzerland is based on the EU

The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) also did not assume that the EU would decide on specific restrictions. “Currently, entry for Chinese nationals is possible without pandemic-related measures,” says SEM spokesman Lukas Rieder. Because Rieder emphasizes at the same time that Switzerland, as a Schengen member, is based on the EU when it comes to entry requirements, Switzerland will also refrain from restrictions.

Simone Buchmann, spokeswoman for the Federal Office of Public Health, also says: “No vaccination, recovery or test certificates for Covid-19 are currently required to enter Switzerland. There are currently no plans to introduce border sanitary measures.”

China, Corona, mutations: These are buzzwords that cause emotions to run high. But are serious consequences to be expected for Switzerland? The Federal Office of Public Health (BAG) gives the all-clear: “We have no indication that the variant circulating in China causes a more severe course of the disease than the previously known omicron variants,” says BAG spokeswoman Simone Buchmann. Or to put it another way: It cannot be assumed that the current infection situation in China poses an increased risk.

Why coordinated action in the Schengen area is important


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Switzerland is a member of the Schengen area. This means that you are part of a common legal framework that regulates many migration regulations such as freedom of travel or visa requirements. Currently, 26 countries, mainly EU countries, belong to the Schengen area.

The Schengen visa is the most commonly requested visa for Europe. It allows you to enter the Schengen area from any Member State and move freely from country to country, for example from Greece to Austria via Slovenia or from Spain to Switzerland via France. There are no border controls within the Schengen zone. The Schengen visa is valid for up to 90 days, for longer stays a national visa must be applied for.

So if Switzerland, like Italy, were the only Schengen country to date to impose entry restrictions, it would not necessarily be guaranteed that these would also be observed. “Entering Switzerland via another Schengen state could not be prevented,” explains Lukas Rieder, media spokesman for the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM).

This is also due to the fact that immunity is higher in Switzerland than in China. “The vast majority of people in Switzerland have been vaccinated, have had an infection, or both. You therefore have a high level of protection against a severe course, »explains Buchmann.

In contrast, in China people are trying to get from the lockdown to the rigorous opening at high speed. The Chinese population is now paying a high price for this shock therapy.

The scope for the virus is getting smaller

But one question remains: How likely is it that given the immense number of new infections in China, a variant will arise that will also turn the infection process upside down here?

Very small, according to the majority of experts. The virus is likely to have exhausted its potential, and there are unlikely to be any unexpected developments. Ultimately, however, no one can be absolutely sure – the pandemic has taken surprising turns too often for that.

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