Canton of Zug, 12.10.2020

Corona doesn't recognise Sundays

Up to now, it has been reported that contact tracking is going very well. But it seems that this is not always the case.

It can take up to three full days following the positive corona test result until all those who had contact with the infected person are informed. This is what happened last weekend in the canton of Zug. The case of Hans B.*, which was brought to our newspaper, raises questions about the speed of the contact tracking – if it takes place on a weekend. And this in a canton that is considered to be one of the flagship cantons in terms of contact tracing throughout Switzerland.

As Aurel Köpfli from the Zug Health Directorate explained on request, all positively tested persons are contacted by an employee of the Health Directorate on the same day or at the latest the following day. This was also the case with Hans B. But the heart of contact tracing, i.e. the recording and contacting of potentially infected persons, has a day off on Sunday in the canton of Zug. The Lungenliga (Lung League), for example, which is responsible for the contact tracking, only works from Monday to Saturday, as confirmed by Aurel Köpfli. If a positive test result occurs on a Friday, and, due to the high number of cases, the Office of Health can only report this on Saturday towards evening, the actual contact tracing will not even start until Monday.

Wearing masks and contact tracing: these are the most important measures on which the canton of Zug is currently relying

Some contact persons only informed after seven days
In the specific case of Hans B.*, this meant that most of the contacts who would have had to undergo 10 days of quarantine actually only had to do this for two to three days, as the quarantine obligation applies from the moment the last contact with the infected person took place. With an average incubation period of five days, this would have been too late for many contacts if they had become infected – and they could have infected more people.

Aurel Köpfli admits that this is "certainly not optimal. It normally works faster." The problem is the very sudden increase in cases that has occurred in recent days. "We have had two to six cases a day in the last few weeks. And now there are suddenly more than 20 every day." The Office of Health is in the process of bringing in enough people and adapting the procedures. "In order to ensure that the first contact with the possibly infected persons takes place on the same day, but at the latest as soon as possible on the following day," says Köpfli. This is one of the most important steps in contact tracing:

"The infected persons are contacted by a medical professional and it is explained to them why it’s so important that they should go into isolation."

The extent to which the Lung League is revising its working hours and how it is reacting to the surge in cases could not be answered by the competent authority, due to a holiday absence up to the editorial deadline!