COVID 19

The whole world will be burdened with a novel corona virus by COVID19 in 2020. After the increasing number of sick people in Italy and infections spilling over into Ticino, the swiss government decides activities. Early on february 28th major events across switzerland are canceled, and soon afterwards the borders closed. Hospitals are locked and only allowed in for patients and staff. Soon then the first patients affected by COVID19 arrive at the University Hospital Basel. A nearby church is quickly converted into a "smear center" and the clinic continues to prepare for a rush. The military will be mobilized for the first time since World War II and helps out with a medical battalion in the health sector. With the obvious "hot spot" in Alsace is feared that the numbers will rise quickly. The big wave remains fortunately, even though half of the intensive care unit and two bed wards were completely occupied by COVID patients at times is. Basel has almost 1,000 positive cases and 50 deceased. At the highest times, almost 70 patients were at the same time hospitalized with COVID19 and almost 20 patients in the intensive care unit. Because of free capacities, patients where also taken from nearby Alsace. Even if the big rush did not happen so far, the hospitals were heavily burdened. Normality is slowly returning in mid-May. Few images come to the public from inside the hospitals. Fabian Fiechter works there as an intensive care specialist with COVID patients. As a photojournalist, he observes media coverage. With growing doubts about the need of the measures, Fabian Fiechter tries to show pictures from inside about the current situation in the University Hospital.