What do they say about pride? It goeth before the fall? All summer I mocked my family and friends in the USA. Look at how amazing Switzerland is! We have so few cases of Corona! We follow the rules! We know how to wash our hands.

And then fall hit. And it started raining. And people started staying inside. And there was no Vitamin D to be had from the sun. And now look at us.

Yeah. We have 8 million people in this tiny country and are getting a crazy number of positive cases. So, did I have a Halloween party last night? No, I did not. Did I still eat an amazing amount of candy? Yes, I did.

I think we’re in for a long, dark winter. While I still feel relatively safe where I live–I’m in Baselstadt (BS on this map)–the university is now 100 percent online. Grades 10 and up are online. Church is online. (Advantage of online church: You can turn off your camera on Zoom and eat snacks during church.)

To be honest, I kind of expected better out of my temporary homeland. The Swiss government is ridiculously competent and non-political when it comes to Corona management. The Swiss people, having been conditioned since birth, are very good rule followers. I can probably count on one hand the number of times I see people without their masks on public transportation (which I ride almost every day). And yet, here we are.

I don’t mean to be melancholoy. I want to emphasize that we are all in this together, and no matter the policy or plan, it looks like we all have to go through this. So wash your hands, follow your local guidelines, and be kind to everyone. Everyone is going through tough things right now. Everyone needs a bit of compassion.

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10 thoughts on “Swiss Sunday: Corona Update

  1. Send my Prayers to the Ax-son Estate. They are dear friends to me. In addition, my thoughts and prayers Are going in to remove Corona and any kind of illness from my fellow human beings.
    Post Script.
    The Falling from a prideful affect only happens if you believe it will. The Grace of God is Merciful in all areas. Stay teachable.

  2. This virus is just really contagious. Wearing masks helps, but I think before it’s all said and done, few of us are going to be able to avoid it.

    1. That’s what the epidemiologists have been saying from the beginning. We’ll all be exposed to it eventually, and the only thing we have even limited control over is how quickly.

  3. Sorry to hear about the rising numbers of Cocid-19 in your area, I highly sympathize since I have had to deal with it since March, here in NY. I live just outside NYC, where once again, the numbers are rising in the same areas, they started before, (Highly density populated areas, where people don’t have the luxury of moving out of town or not working). Hey we had to stand in long lines outside to vote and the people complaining don’t have patience.
    Half the cause of the spread has to do with laziness in following simple sanitary precautions–frequent handwashing, avoidance of touching unnecessarily, expecting the old “normality” that encourages crowds and need to party with alcohol in crowded pubic settings. With all the reliance on using technology, people don’t seem to regard it enough as a means of communication,despite its capablity of being the prefect tool. Gamers hae fared better in keeping touch with others beyond immediate friends than those people who just used their technology to alleviate boredom.
    May I offer a few suggestions to make life less anxious—Keep yourself physically active, as it helps keep your stress hormones low. Wear a mask anytime you are outside–re-usable masks that can be washed are fine and have more than one to use. Proper Mask washing is very simple as long as you use hot water and soap. I put up an over the door hanger to let them air dry since I don’t have access to a personal washer/dryer unit in my residence. If you use a public laundramat just go during the non-crowded times. Since you use public transportation, try to not touch surfaces and sit away from anyone else, and carry hand sanitizer to wipe down your hands. Don’t touch your mask once you put it on, except by the side parts to remove it. If you wear glasses, to avoid foggin them up, don’t put them on your eyes as soon as you go outside where it is cold, give yourself a few minutes to adjust and then put them on. (Your breathe and glasses will be in close temperature then) Also invest in glass holders( an attachment like a necklace) so that if your glasses fall off your nose they don’t fall to the floor. Lastly don’t browse when shopping have a list and stick to it even if you have to substitute brands, look at items to choose from, before picking it up. Stay safe and healthy.

  4. You mention Vitamin D. My endocrinologist stated that from what he saw research stated that Vitamin D was a good deterrent to the Corona Virus. It seems to be true in Switzerland’s case. If not that, do you have any ideas what is causing the spike?

  5. Cases are one thing. Symptomatic cases are totally different. Add to that, how many of those symptomatic cases require hospitalization?

    Before everyone panics, ask those questions.

    As someone else posted, it’s likely unavoidable so if you’re metabolically compromised, take precautions. Healthy people have practically nothing to worry about other than getting sick (which sucks) but you have a greater than 99% chance of recovery.

    There are plenty of other things to be worried about that have a greater chance of killing you.

    That ends my happy thought of the day!

    1. Not sure what you are trying to say here, Semi-Evil Tech Manager, but the symptomatic cases and daily death rates in Switzerland are also sky-high.

  6. Not trying to say anything other than cases by themselves are only one part of the picture.

    You assert that it’s “sky high”. What are the numbers? You have to look at not only percentages but absolute numbers too. Having a “large” percentage of positive cases resulting in death doesn’t mean a whole lot if the absolute number of deaths is a fraction of the population. Throw in comorbidity factors and it gets even muddier.

    I don’t know the numbers in Switzerland. I’m only saying that all factors must be considered before pushing the panic button. This is a more in-depth issue than what news outlets are reporting. They have to sell clicks. Data and rational thinking (absent emotion) is inconvenient.

  7. I totally disagree with those who claim that exposure is inevitable, that you’re probably going to get it, and it’s not that bad. None of those things are true, and they’re dangerous positions, because it might cause people to let down their guard even more than they currently are, which is fueling this current explosion of cases. Even in the US, with our out-of-control epidemic, it’s estimated that only 5% of our population has already been exposed to COVID-19. That’s amazing, since so many are not wearing masks — not properly, anyway — or not social distancing, and are congregating in larger-than-recommended groups, etc. The reason the infection rate is so high is because the disease is so highly-infectious, not because exposure is universal and inevitable. Keep your guard up, people. It’s an irresponsible lie that 99% of the victims recover. The death rate is higher than that, and even those who survive can have serious, long-lasting, deleterious effects. Please protect yourself and others and stay safe, and healthy.

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