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The Federal Council is hesitant to take further corona measures. But it is not too late, according to science editor Zöfel.
It’s all about this: The Federal Council is currently governing via Twitter – Health Minister Alain Berset announced on Wednesday evening that the Federal Council would not take any further measures against the Omikron wave for the time being. You can react quickly if necessary, but now you want to observe first. On Thursday afternoon, Federal Council spokesman André Simonazzi wrote on Twitter that the Federal Council would meet tomorrow Friday at 1 p.m. for a conference call on the current situation. Written communication is planned afterwards. This brief announcement also causes irritation in scientific circles.
Therefore hesitation could be fatal: “Omikron is so new and so fast that you only have all the information together when Omikron is already having an impact in Switzerland,” says SRF science editor Katrin Zöfel. The R value, i.e. the number of people infected by an infected person, is estimated to be around twice as high for Omikron as for the delta variant that was dominant until recently.
This is what the eyes are now on: The decisive factors are the rate of spread of the omicron variant, the severity of the disease and the question of how well immune people – i.e. those who have been vaccinated or those who have recovered – are protected from severe disease. It is not only necessary to look at the number of hospital admissions, according to Zöfel. “It also depends on the number of mild cases: If many people have to stay at home for a week or two at once, it can become a noticeable burden.”
Therefore the wave should be slowed down: Zöfel is convinced that the Omikron wave can still be slowed down with suitable measures – even if this is more complex than the Delta wave. “So an infection does not necessarily have to come now.”
The decision is: How well is the affected person protected from a severe course at the time of the infection?
Basically, however, every person will be infected with the corona virus at some point. Two points are decisive here: “With what immune status this happens – so how well is the person affected protected from a severe course at the time of the infection – and: How many people are affected within what period of time.” At some point you will have to let the virus run. “But doing it now would have too many negative side effects,” says the science editor.