Many countries instituted travel bans from the UK last week due to a more transmissible mutation of Covid-19 that is creating havoc in Southeast and London.
Switzerland instituted a ban week ago on Monday that also retroactively required tourists who had arrived from the UK from December 14 to quarantine for 10 of their arrival. 200+ British tourists felt that this didn’t apply to them and fled the quarantine in the Swiss ski resort area of Verbier in the middle of the night.
Here’s an excerpt from the Tagesanzeiger:
On Monday, the federal government imposed a retroactive quarantine for travelers from England due to the mutation of the coronavirus. This had particular consequences for the Valais ski resort Verbier. Now it is clear: Half of the 400 people affected by the community have left the village in a night-and-fog campaign.
“Many of them stayed in quarantine for a day before they left unnoticed under cover of darkness,” says Jean-Marc Sandoz, communications officer for the Valais municipality of Bagnes, which Verbier belongs to. It is unclear where the tourists went – there were no flights between Switzerland and Great Britain at the time. Some have now reported from France, says Sandoz.
The hoteliers only noticed the clandestine departure when their calls to the quarantine rooms were repeatedly unanswered or the meals left in front of the rooms were not touched. Sometimes the tourists contacted their hosts later to find out whether they would have to pay for the remaining nights – some hosts reacted accommodatingly, others are still looking for solutions.
Conclusion
This is proof that these voluntary quarantines don’t work when people are selfish and feel that they don’t apply to them.
If you plan to do an effective quarantine, you need to follow what Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, and other countries in Asia-Pacific have done.
They lock you up in quarantine, usually for two weeks, and test for Covid-19 a few times. You are free to leave after the time is up if free of virus.
Has this took place in 2021, the Swiss could have put these Brits on Shcnegen’s ban list that would have prevented them from visiting the bloc for several years. Actions have consequences.
