'Overwhelming' COVID second wave floods Swiss hospitals

FILE PHOTO: A hospital staffer treats a patient suffering from the coronavirus disease in the acute care unit of the University Hospital (HUG) as Switzerland enters a second wave of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Geneva, Switzerland, October 27, 2020. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

GENEVA (Reuters) - Swiss hospitals are scrambling to cope with a surge in new COVID-19 patients, bringing back retired staff to replace sick frontline workers and closing other wards as officials warn they could reach breaking point in about 10 days.

Case numbers in Switzerland have risen to record levels this month, with infection rates far exceeding those in neighbours Germany and Italy.