The Swiss health minister said coronavirus case counts and hospitalisations were doubling every week, warning of the prospect of overburdened hospitals as Switzerland has gone from one of the least-affected countries in Europe to one of the worst-hit in just three weeks, AP reports.

Alain Berset made the comments after the country of 8.5 million tallied on Wednesday a record 5,583 new cases over the latest 24 hours, obliterating the previous one-day record set two days earlier by about 14 per cent.

He said the government will act again if new restrictive measures announced over the weekend don't help lower the count.

"The situation is worsening, and worsening fast," Berset told a news conference in Bern, the capital.