COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland
The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have spread to Switzerland on 25 February 2020 when the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed following a COVID-19 outbreak in Italy.
| COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland | |
|---|---|
 Map of cantons in Switzerland by number of confirmed cases (as of 9 May)[1] 1-99 cases 100-499 cases 500-999 cases 1,000-2,499 cases 2,500+ cases | |
| Disease | COVID-19 |
| Virus strain | SARS-CoV-2 |
| Location | Switzerland |
| First outbreak | Wuhan, Hubei, China via Milan, Italy |
| Index case | Lugano, Ticino |
| Arrival date | 25 February 2020 (4 years, 3 months, 3 weeks and 4 days) |
| Confirmed cases | 30,380[2][3] |
| Recovered | 26,800[3] |
Deaths | 1,845[2][3] |
| Government website | |
| BAG Schweiz | |
Cases
The first case was a 70-year-old man in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino which borders Italy, tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. The man had previously visited Milan.[4][5] Afterwards, multiple cases related to the Italy areas were discovered in multiple cantons, including Basel-City, Zürich, and Graubünden.[6][7][8]
Multiple isolated cases not related to the Italy clusters were also confirmed.[9]
Response
On 28 February, the national government, the Federal Council, banned all events with more than 1,000 participants. On 16 March, schools and most shops were closed nationwide, and on 20 March, all gatherings of more than five people in public spaces were banned. The government also put restrictions on border crossings. They also announced economic support measures worth 40 billion Swiss francs.[10]