Swiss coronavirus cases rises to 10,000, with 161 deaths

Switzerland’s confirmed cases of coronavirus infections topped 10,000 on Thursday as the government pumped money into the crisis-hit economy and army medical units helped hospitals handle the spreading epidemic.

The country had 10,714 confirmed cases and 161 people have died of the disease as of Thursday morning, the Federal Office of Public Health said.

That was up from 103 deaths and 9,765 cases on Wednesday.

The Swiss government and central bank are pouring money into the slowing economy to prevent it from crumbling.

Companies rushed to tap their banks for 20 billion Swiss francs ($20.58 billion) worth of state-backed loans that became available on Thursday. Loans of less than 500,000 francs were interest-free.