If specialists are absent, it can become critical – not only in medicine.
In order to keep operations going, public transport is dependent on skilled workers.
The Sihltal-Zürich-Üetliberg-Bahn (SZU) has already hit it. Numerous locomotive drivers are absent: because they have contracted the coronavirus, have to be in quarantine or have a “seasonal illness”, as a message says.
As a result, the SZU had to restrict its operations. The offer on the S 10 line between Zurich main station and Zurich Triemli is reduced during rush hour, probably until January 7th.
In the second Corona winter, experts assume that the number of cases will increase sharply again. The federal scientific task force expects 20,000 cases per day for January, as they did at a media conference on Tuesday said. In the canton of Zurich, the number of cases reached a new high on Tuesday with 2,408 new infections since the previous day.
The Omikron variant now accounts for half of all cases, as the health department explains at the request of the NZZ. And it should soon take over. The Geneva virologist Isabelle Eckerle recently said the “Blick”: “There is no wave, but an omicron wall towards us.”
What does this mean for critical infrastructure such as transport, hospitals or food supplies in the canton of Zurich? The example of the Sihl Valley-Zurich-Üetliberg Railway shows that it becomes problematic when certain professional groups are canceled.
“Our specialized staff cannot be replaced,” says Marcel Geser, SZU’s Head of Market. The company has a comprehensive protection concept, including in-house pool tests. Fortunately, at the moment it does not look as if the number of staff absences will increase any more, according to Geser. If so, the offer would have to be further restricted.
The Zürcher Verkehrsbetriebe (VBZ) with around 2,400 employees does not comment on staff failures. A task force has been systematically monitoring the situation for 22 months. “We have a pandemic plan that provides for various measures depending on the situation,” says Vice Director Silvia Behofsits.
«Acute shortage» in care
When it comes to critical infrastructure, the focus is particularly on hospitals. The places in the intensive care units are limited, the fear of tough triage decisions has determined the pandemic policy since the beginning of the Corona crisis.
At the beginning of this week, 51 employees at the University Hospital Zurich fell out because they were in quarantine or isolation. This with a workforce of more than 7,500 full-time positions. However, it is not the number of failures that is decisive, but rather the areas that are affected.
“Highly specialized medicine is practiced in a university hospital,” writes the media office on request. “If specialists fail, urgently necessary treatments or interventions cannot be carried out.”
In nursing, there is already an “acute shortage” of skilled workers, since only a few of the activities can be carried out by laypeople. The current personnel situation in the nursing sector is difficult and the university hospital is constantly looking for new personnel. “One critical area is intensive care, where it is still difficult to find suitably qualified employees.”
With a view to the Omikron wave, those responsible have therefore drawn up step-by-step plans for expanding and shifting capacities within the hospital. According to the media office, there are internal pools with employees who can support other departments in the event of staff shortages.
If there was a massive increase in patient numbers, the authorities would intervene. They are responsible for the measures and coordination between the hospitals.
“From the best case to the worst case”
In addition to the hospitals, Zurich protection and rescue is indispensable for the city’s basic care. With almost 800 employees in the areas of medical services, fire brigade, civil defense and in the operations center, it is the largest civil rescue organization in Switzerland. The media spokesman Urs Eberle says: “We have to be prepared for all eventualities.”
Since the beginning of the crisis, a situation office with specialists has been assessing the epidemiological development and deriving different scenarios from this, “from the best case to the worst case,” explains Eberle. At the moment there are practically no staff shortages due to Covid-19 among the emergency services.
Personnel bottlenecks could have serious consequences, especially since the rescue and transfer service is basic emergency medical care. To do this, there must be enough qualified personnel available for the crew of the emergency vehicles.
But Eberle reassures: Due to the size of the organization, protection and rescue has numerous trained specialists. You can also fall back on specialists from various units such as the higher technical college for rescue professions or members of the militia fire brigade and civil defense.
Full stocks instead of hamster purchases
When it comes to basic services, many will remember the beginning of the pandemic, when the shelves of wholesalers with pasta, tin cans and toilet paper suddenly stood empty. Such a scenario is unlikely to repeat itself almost two years and five waves of contagion later. On the one hand, the population has since refrained from buying hamsters. On the other hand, the wholesalers are optimistic despite the Omikron wave.
According to its own information, since the outbreak of the pandemic, Migros has not recorded more sick leave than in other years, with the exception of a smaller maximum value in March 2020 and a larger peak in November 2020. In addition, the warehouses are “well filled”, according to the media office. One is confident, but is observing the situation “soberly and attentively”.
Coop also has no major staff shortages to complain about at the moment. The media office will inform you on request that you will rely on the positive experience of the previous waves when proceeding further. Production locations such as the Reismühle Brunnen, the Swissmill Tower in the city of Zurich or the logistics in the distribution centers are particularly designated as critical areas. So far, however, the supply contract could be fulfilled at any time.
Hardly any failures with the police
The canton police informs that the police supply and care of the Zurich population was and is guaranteed around the clock at all times. “The reduced opening times in the coming days are related to the holidays, not viruses,” says media spokesman Marc Besson.
At the Zurich city police with around 2100 employees, the corona-related failures are currently low, says media director Judith Hödl. “If this should increase, we have concepts with appropriate organizational measures.”
The canton of Ticino, in which the Omikron variant dominates, has reacted and tightened the measures: Anyone who has had contact with a person suffering from Corona must be in quarantine – even if you are double vaccinated. There is an exception only for boosted people. Now the quarantine regulations are also being checked in the canton of Zurich, according to the health department.
Shortening the isolation time is also likely to become an issue. The US had halved the deadline from 10 to 5 days if an infected person no longer shows symptoms. This regulation would also make sense in Switzerland, says Rudolf Hauri, President of the Cantonal Doctors, to Radio SRF.
New scientific results seem to show that the incubation period is much shorter than expected, says Hauri. The canton doctors would therefore discuss shortened isolation with the Federal Office of Public Health. If you come to an agreement, there will be a motion to politicians. If symptom-free people do not have to stay at home for a long time, the basic care could also be relieved.