Switzerland says coronavirus infections rise to 6,100

Switzerland on Saturday reported 6,100 coronavirus infections, some 25% more than a day earlier, and 56 deaths, the Swiss health ministry said, as hospitals in the canton of Ticino that borders hard-hit Italy were under intense pressure.

"The situation in Ticino is very tense," said Daniel Koch, head of the Federal Office of Health's communicable diseases division. The latest tally nationwide is up more than 1,200 cases in a day, while the deaths were up 13 from Friday.

The Swiss military took delivery of 50 additional ventilators and deployed them in Ticino on Friday, amid a global race by countries to add more potentially life-saving breathing devices needed by critically ill patients to give them a fighting chance of survival.