Is the hidden corona wave in Switzerland now over? So says an infectious disease specialist

A hidden corona wave has been plaguing us for quite some time, which should be over by the beginning of spring. Just like with the flu wave, which is extremely seasonal. But Sars-CoV-2 with the omicron variant XBB, which is dominant today, didn’t do us this favor. Thousands have coughed in recent weeks, some had a fever. But usually without those affected knowing whether a corona infection was really the trigger. The corona wave could not be detected with tests, but only thanks to the viral load in the waste water of the Swiss population.

Almost all sewage treatment plants in Switzerland are now showing a significant decrease in the Sars-CoV-2 load in the wastewater. It can therefore be assumed that the “hidden” corona wave is now actually over. This is also confirmed by Professor Huldrych Günthard, Chief Physician of the Infectious Diseases Clinic at Zurich University Hospital. He says: “The immunity of part of the population has been boosted by this wave.” In addition, the weather is now getting better and we are much less crowded together in enclosed spaces. For these reasons, it will probably be some time before the infections increase again, says Günthard. So there should hardly be many infections in the summer.

It is impossible to say whether we should fear a large wave in the autumn, according to the infectious disease specialist from Zurich. “Clinically, we have basically already had a rest, because we hardly got sick from this wave on a larger scale.” The many omicron infections were barely visible in the hospitals. In the weeks of April, there were between 10 and 25 patients with a proven corona infection at the University Hospital Zurich, which was also the case at the University Hospital in Basel. Günthard does not expect anything different in the coming months. “Unless there is a new variant.”

The World Health Organization (WHO) also sees relaxations. It has decided that the corona pandemic is no longer considered an international health emergency, declaring the end of the pandemic, so to speak. “The pandemic has been on a declining trend for a year,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in Geneva on Friday, referring to increased immunity worldwide from vaccinations and infections. Therefore, the highest alarm level can be cleared. The virus has not been defeated, says Tedros, but is still circulating worldwide. The virus remains dangerous and can develop even more dangerous new variants at any time.

However, a WHO expert committee has stated that good tools are now available against Sars-CoV-2, such as vaccinations and medication, but also proven hygiene measures such as social distancing and face masks. According to an analysis, by the end of 2022, the international UN vaccination program Covax has saved 2.7 million lives in low-income countries through corona vaccinations and significantly reduced the burden of disease. However, the WHO also writes that from April 3 to 30 of this year alone, nearly 2.8 million new infections and more than 17,000 deaths were reported. However, the exact corona figures are now difficult to determine, as there is hardly any testing in many countries, including Switzerland.

Incidentally, lifting the corona alert level by the WHO has no direct concrete consequences, because each country decides on its own protection measures. The WHO has declared an international public health emergency seven times since 2005. Corona was the second longest, only the one against polio, which has been in effect since 2014, is longer. (aargauerzeitung.ch)