Three quarters of the people in Switzerland and Liechtenstein who have lost their lives to the virus since the beginning of the corona pandemic have died since the beginning of October 2020. Around half of them lived in old people’s and nursing homes.
This emerges from a report that the Federal Office of Public Health (BAG) published on Friday. Accordingly, more men (54 percent) died than women (46 percent). Over 90 percent of the deceased were older than 70 years and the majority of them had at least one previous illness.
Incidence of deaths higher than in Germany
Of the more than 10,000 people in hospital care, 14 percent were treated in an intensive care unit, of which 28 percent died. The median age of those who died in intensive care units was 74 years.
Looking at the entire epidemic, Switzerland reports an incidence of deaths of 106 per 100,000 inhabitants, according to the report. This means that it has a higher incidence than the average for European countries (104.8). The incidence of deaths in Switzerland is slightly higher than in Germany and Austria and the Netherlands, but lower than Italy, Spain and France.
Two phases of excess mortality
The deaths due to the coronavirus led to two phases of excess mortality in Switzerland last year. The Federal Statistical Office (FSO) has one in spring (March / April 2020) and one since autumn (end of October 2020) until the end of January 2021.
The excess mortality in the second phase was higher than that in other particular phases during the last ten years. Such excess mortality occurred during flu seasons or in a hot summer.
The report is based on data as of February 19th. In Switzerland, more than 9,300 people have died in connection with the virus since the beginning of the corona pandemic. The first person died on Friday a year ago as a result of illness with the coronavirus. (SDA / bra)
The focus on Blick TV: Switzerland commemorates the corona victims(09:45)