The most infections in the canton

In no other municipality have the figures increased more since mid-February than in Steinhausen., Oberägeri, Walchwil and Baar have also contributed strongly to the recent increase in the number of cases in Zug, however.

The number of positive corona tests in the canton of Zug has increased sharply since the end of February. After a low in mid-February – with usually less than 10 new cases per day – daily reports have increased markedly, especially in the last week and a half: with 30, 36 and 30 notifications on the first three days of this working week. "We are concerned about this increase," says Aurel Köpfli, spokesman for the health department of the canton of Zug. "Although there are still fluctuations in small cantons, there is clearly an increase here."

He rejects the claim that the increase in cases could be due to the recently introduced saliva tests. As he says, the preventive tests of the past three weeks have so far revealed a total of 26 positive cases. Aurel Köpfli added: "That doesn't make up a large part (of the numbers)."

A total of 368 new cases were registered across the canton over the same period, according to data on the Zug Corona Statistics website. This is 15 times more than the corona infections discovered in high schools.

There were no known large clusters that could account for the increase in cases, with the upward trend in canton Zug corresponding to the development throughout Switzerland.

Latest figures in the canton of Zug

26 new cases in the last 24 hours

7 hospitalisations

6,866 cases since the start of the pandemic

6,588 recovering persons since the beginning of the pandemic

114 deaths since the start of the pandemic

As of March 19, 2021, 8:00 a.m.
Source: FOPH ZUg

Menzingen no longer in top position
When the figures in the individual municipalities are examined, there have been be significant changes. Menzingen, which had replaced Oberägeri as a hotspot with the highest proportion of infections after the festive season, has now been overtaken by Baar and Steinhausen. Measured in proportion to its size, Steinhausen has the most infections, at 5.94% percent of all inhabitants, followed by Baar with 5.91% and Menzingen with 5.82%.

The municipalities of Hünenberg (4.55%), Walchwil (4.53%) and, least of all Neuheim, with 4.34% of the population who have already received a positive result in a corona test, are the least affected during the entire pandemic.

Steinhausen with the highest proportion - Baar with the most cases
The front-runner Steinhausen is also the most heavily involved in the recent increase in infections: from the week of February 15, the municipality has 70 new cases, representing 0.69% of the population. The former hotspot Oberägeri had 40 additional cases (0.64%) and Baar 122, affecting 0.5% percent of the population. In absolute terms, Baar thereby has around a quarter of the 491 new cases since 15 February.

Neuheim contributed the least cases: both absolutely and proportionately. With two positive tests, only 0.09% of the inhabitants the mountain community are affected.

Oberägeri and Walchwil recently recorded a sharp increase in cases
Looking at the figures since January, it becomes clear how different the curves are in the individual municipalities. The number of infections is falling continuously in the former hotspot Menzingen. After a brief flare-up in the week of February 22, they dropped to 21 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, equivalent to one case per week.

At the new hotspot Steinhausen, on the other hand, there were no strong upward swings during this period. There was only a kink in the second week of the sports holidays– but downwards. In general, the school holidays from 8 to 21 February seem to have had an impact on the figures – or on the number of people tested positive. A fall in the numbers was seen in virtually all municipalities in the first week, or at the latest in the second week of the holidays.

While the municipalities of Baar and Menzingen remained at a low level in the second week of March, there has been a sharp increase in Oberägeri and Walchwil., there were 20 new infections in one week In Oberägeri – a figure that has been only three times higher throughout the entire pandemic so far, with a maximum of 46 infections in mid-October within a week. There were also eleven new infections In Walchwil, and this number has only been surpassed four times in the past year – with a maximum of 14 infections per week at the end of January.

According to the Zug Health Directorate, however, no specific  reasons or large clusters are known for these outbreaks.