GENEVA, April 2. /TASS/. The number of new coronavirus cases has risen by 1,128 over the past 24 hours and 54 people died, the national health agency said Thursday.
"Currently, 18,267 people tested positive [for coronavirus] and 432 people died," the agency cited nationwide results.
As of April 1, the county reported 17,139 cases of coronavirus and 378 fatalities. Switzerland reported its first coronavirus case on February 25.
More than 139,000 Swiss had their coronavirus tests taken, the infection was found in 15% of the tests. According to the authorities, the average age of patients is 53. The infection map published on Thursday shows that the canton of Ticino on the Italian border is the most affected (on average, 638.5 cases per 100,000 inhabitants). The canton of Vaud comes second (478.8). They are followed by Geneva (491.3) and Basel-Stadt (413.8). Tribune de Geneve daily is monitoring the death toll and cases in the country, saying that 141 people died in Ticino, 84 - in Vaud, while Geneva has 59 deaths and Basel-Stadt reported 19 fatalities.
The Swiss government on March 20 tightened rules to combat coronavirus spread, however, stopped short of imposing a total lockdown. Public gatherings of more than five people outside of homes are banned, while people should observe social distancing of two meters. Perpetrators are fined by the police. The emergency is declared until April 19, while restaurants, bars, museums and cinemas are shut down. Educational facilities are closed until April 4.
In late December 2019, Chinese authorities notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about the outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, in central China. Since then, cases of the novel coronavirus - named COVID-19 by the WHO - have been reported in every corner of the globe, including Russia.
On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. To date, more than 938,000 people have been infected worldwide and over 47,000 deaths have been reported. That said, over 195,000 individuals have recovered from the illness across the globe.