25.6.2020 press release: SwissCovid app available from 25 June 2020
The Federal Council approved the Ordinance on the Proximity Tracing System on 24 June 2020. The SwissCovid app can now be used throughout Switzerland. It is available in the Apple and Google Play stores.
The number of new infections with the coronavirus has remained consistently low and should not be allowed to rise again if at all possible. If it does, the country must be able to react quickly. This requires closely coordinated monitoring. The most important way of breaking the chain of infection is to have a thorough system of contact tracing. The SwissCovid app will complement this contact tracing and helps to break transmission chains more quickly.
New coronavirus: SwissCovid app and contact tracing
Contact tracing is used to identify people who have been in close contact with persons who have been infected with the coronavirus. The SwissCovid app supports this process: it establishes whether we have been in close physical contact with an infected person. In this way, we can break the chains of transmission.
SwissCovid app helps to break transmission chains more quickly
The SwissCovid app for mobile phones (Android/iPhone) will help to contain the new coronavirus. It complements the conventional contact tracing carried out by the cantons – and thus helps to break the chains of transmission. The SwissCovid app is available in the Apple Store and Google Play Store.
How does the SwissCovid app work?
Install the SwissCovid app on your Apple or Android smartphone. All you then need to do is switch on Bluetooth and carry your phone at all times. The smartphone transmits encrypted IDs, known as checksums, via Bluetooth. These are long random strings of characters. Each checksum is deleted automatically from your phone two weeks after it is generated.
The app anonymously measures how long and how close it is to other smartphones that have the app installed. It records any encounters that it has with other phones (closer than 1.5 meters and for longer than 15 minutes in any one day), as these are the situations in which you are most likely to become infected with the virus.
How notification works
If a SwissCovid app user tests positive for the coronavirus, the cantonal authorities issue them with a code (the Covidcode). The code allows them to activate the notification function in their app. This warns other app users that have had an encounter with the infected person in the period starting two days before that person first experienced symptoms of the disease. When the code is entered, the app notifies these other app users automatically and anonymously.
Lisa Cirieco-Ohlman went to have her hair and nails done on the first day of reopening for this hairdressers in Geneva, Switzerland. Many of you have already jumped at the chance to get in early or have added a date in your agenda for your next appointment. It is quite amazing how important this has become and that getting your hair done can really lift your moral! A bit of pampering goes a long way.
Upon entering, Lisa noticed the hand sanitizer station facing the door. After sanitizing, Jeanine Kohli, from Extra Coiffure, asked 3 questions. The protocol from the Coiffure Suisse (the Swiss Hairdressing Association) helps hairdressers know what procedures to adapt. If Lisa had answered any of the questions putting anyone in jeopardy of getting sick, the salon may refuse entry. Dominique Kohli assured me he would ask someone to leave if this was the case. The rules and regulations will be changing and shifting as analysis of the situation unfolds so this is current as of 28 April 2020.
What kind of mask to wear?
All precautions were taken very seriously from wiping down every instrument and surface to making sure everyone enters with their own mask. Wearing a mask that loops around your ear is the only way someone can cut your hair so make sure you have one. It is very easy to fold a scarf around a coffee filter and add two elastic bands. However, knowing how hot it would be, Lisa brought in a different mask that goes around the back of her head to use while she had a pedicure (another moral-boosting moment).
Bring in your own reading material
Once the color dye was in place, you will need to find something to do while it sets. Normally a pile of magazines (you know, the gossipy ones) will while away the time nicely, but none were forthcoming. No waiting room with coffee table, no magazines or flyers... all cleared to keep to a minimum of surfaces. So either bring in something of your own to read or make do with some shut-eye — easy to do with the mask on as you already feel quite protected from view!
If you are looking for an English-speaking doctor in the Morges area, then we have one that was recently recommended to knowitall.ch, Dr. Sara Heyse.
Dan L. wrote this fabulous email to us, "I went to see Dr. Sara Heyse two years ago in Nyon. I had a problem which troubled me for a while and none of the doctors I saw were able to point me in a clear direction. They just recommended to take various tests and exams. When I saw Dr. Heyse, she listened to me carefully and she found the correct diagnose. She prescribed the treatment as well as mesotherapy. I followed her advice and am now recovered. I am still seeing Dr. Heyse regularly at her clinic is in Morges; I think that it is worth the trip. I feel good each time after seeing her. For me, Dr. Heyse is a very good doctor. She speaks excellent English and she is a very good listener. She enables and empowers me in my healing process. I highly recommend Dr. Heyse."
And another glowing referral from Elina V., "Dr Heyse is an exceptional physician, who meets each of her patients at a personal level and is a wonderful listener. She is a warm and welcoming doctor, who makes you feel very comfortable even when you are not at your best. The professional advice she has given me was to the point and was what I needed. I would sincerely recommend Dr. Heyse's services to others in the region. I have dealt with her in English, but I also know that she speaks fluent French."
Can you please explain your line of work?
I am writing this text in the middle of the Corona virus crisis. It doesn't feel appropriate to talk a lot about myself but rather what moves me to do this profession. I have such great respect for nature that I wanted to serve our community by advocating for the beauty of our bodies and souls. I strongly believe that if we can honour and respect the equilibrium in nature, we can live happily and in great health until our time is up here on earth. My everyday work is mainly focussed on encouraging people to listen to their bodies. When symptoms and health issues come up, it is up to us to decipher the message. What is out of equilibrium? What habits, dogmas, ideas or views do we need to change to recover our balance?
As a physician, my task is to help translate this message and to help patients to find their natural balance. During my years in practice I started applying several tools such as phytotherapy (management and prevention of disease with plants), orthomolecular medecine (with vitamins and nutritional supplements) and mesotherapy (tiny injections under the skin with natural products) to support the body. Fortunately we also have access to wonderful medication that we can prescribe when needed. I feel so grateful that I have the luxury to combine conventional medicine and complementary medicine in my day to day practice.
Patsy Allen, Daniel Avigdor, Nicola Bowers, Raynelle Arcaini
ESCA CancerSupport (ESCA CS) is taking up residence at the Château du Grand-Saconnex on 4 February, as they mark their 20th anniversary. The new premises will enable ESCA CS to better support those who have been affected by cancer, and their loved ones, in Geneva, Vaud and neighboring France.
“After 20 years of serving the Lake Geneva area, we had out-grown our premises. This new center will enhance our ability to offer our full range of services in a serene, warm and secure environment,” said Nicola Bowers, co-Director of ESCA CS. "We believe that in our new home, we can continue to expand our CancerSupport network, providing help that is free of charge and accessible to everyone.”
Back in 2000, a small group of 4 volunteers calling themselves the English-speaking Cancer Support Group, has grown into the professional and comprehensive support association now. These 20 years has seen great progress in the field of cancer research and the support this association gives is invaluable. Emotional support, practical help and physical well-being activities will now available under one roof, free of charge and in English — accessible to everyone. Some of the activities offered are counseling, group and peer support, fitness, yoga and art therapy.
Each year 35,000 people are diagnosed with cancer in Switzerland, approximately 2,500 of whom reside in and around Geneva. An estimated 320,000 people are living with cancer in Switzerland. That number is predicted to double by 2030.
We love it when one of our readers spontaneously recommends a great company. Thanks to Lois for referring Ilham Bernichi Claudet from Swiss Med Office to us. We caught up with Ilham and asked her to tell us more about her company and herself.
When and why did you start Swiss Med Office?
In all areas, everyone wants the best. This is even more true when it comes to health, and when we and our loved ones are sick. But how do you know if a doctor or surgeon is good? Unless we have a health specialist in our environment, we have no way of knowing the professional reputation of a practitioner.
Hence the importance of having a neutral and independent health confidant at his side, who guides us in our choices.
What is behind the name?
Swiss: because we only work with Swiss partners to ensure the quality of our services.
Med: for medical.
Office: for the family office side, since we work as a medical concierge or PA.
What is your background: nationality, education, why Geneva?
I was born in Casablanca and spent the last 30 years of my life in French-speaking Switzerland (and am also a Swiss national), first in Geneva where I obtained my international diploma as a travel specialist (IATA) in 1993, while I studied experimental sciences and did my final internship at Rhône Poulenc Pharma, then in Morges. So I spent about ten years in travel, at a time when the Concorde was all the rage, particularly as a sales manager and agency manager in a United Nations office.
I am very fortunate to have been invited to visit and test palaces or the Business Class of the best airlines; very rewarding experiences. I have been around the world three times, met unforgettable people and discovered unique sites. Travelling forges the mind and nourishes the soul, which is why I feel at home everywhere and adapt quickly. As some would say, I am a citizen of the world!
After Swissair's grounding and the arrival of the Internet, travel agencies were confronted with a new business model dictated by low-costs. They have begun to charge for administrative and advisory fees in the absence of the commissions historically granted by airlines. I realized then how valuable the quality of neutral professional advice was.
Thanks to these long years of experience in the field, rich in human contact, I have built an important business network, which has allowed me to access the health sector. A position was created for me at the end of 2007 in the largest group of private clinics in French-speaking Switzerland and the second largest in Switzerland.
As part of my duties, my role has been to advise and support VIP patients, both Swiss and foreign. In order to meet their needs in terms of medical and surgical treatment, often in emergencies. I have made it my responsibility to facilitate their access to care by offering them personalized care, while guaranteeing them total confidentiality and security.
The next step was obvious for me and in 2017, I founded Swiss Med Office.
