GENEVA: Geneva hospitals on Sunday issued a call for medically trained volunteers and recently retired staff to help tackle a record number of Coronavirus patients anticipated in the coming days.

Geneva University Hospitals (HUG) said the number of coronavirus patients was expected to be “far higher” than at the peak of the pandemic’s first wave in March.

Switzerland’s second-biggest city is home to many international institutions including the United Nations.

According to the latest figures released Friday by the Swiss health ministry, 5,057 new cases of the respiratory disease were registered in Geneva over the previous 14 days — an incidence of 1,012.5 per 100,000 people.

Cases, hospitalisations and deaths in Switzerland have doubled from one week to the next throughout October.

The government is expected to decide Wednesday on new measures to control the spread of the virus.—AFP