Swiss deploy army again to help hospitals handle pandemic

The Swiss government on Wednesday authorised deploying up to 2,500 military personnel to help the country's hard-pressed health care system handle a second wave of coronavirus infections.

The Swiss government on Wednesday authorised deploying up to 2,500 military personnel to help the country's hard-pressed health care system handle a second wave of coronavirus infections. This marked the second time this year the army has rolled out to support hospitals as they treat and transport patients. New infections https://www.bag.admin.ch/bag/en/home/krankheiten/ausbrueche-epidemien-pandemien/aktuelle-ausbrueche-epidemien/novel-cov/situation-schweiz-und-international.html surpassed 10,000 in a day on Wednesday, threatening to overwhelm the health care system.

"With the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of cases is rising sharply and with it - with a delay of one to two weeks - the number of hospitalisations and patients in intensive care units. Since Tuesday, 27 October 2020, several cantons have submitted requests for military support," the government said after a cabinet meeting. It also gave the green light to distribute 350 million Swiss francs ($384 million) in grants and loans to professional and semi-professional sports clubs hit by the pandemic, and said it was ready to consider more help now that big events were taking place without spectators in a bid to slow the disease's spread.

($1 = 0.9117 Swiss francs)

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