Switzerland takes UK off Quarantine list

A snowHead

With Swiss levels increasing they’ve decided quarantining visitors from countries with similar rates doesn’t make much sense. Summary of new measures here (In French)

https://www.20min.ch/fr/story/le-conseil-federal-etend-le-port-du-masque-a-lexterieur-402068870748

A snowHead

Seems very sensible.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Blimey, imagine a government taking a decision based on the science...! Very Happy

You need to Login to know who's really who.

I'm hoping by December an outbreak of common sense will run rampant across Western Europe and politicians will realise that scapegoating other places that their citizens might reasonably wish to travel has no measurable impact on the spread of Covid in their territory.

Obviously that's a big hope in the UK where we both have leaders with immunity to self-awareness and another reason to demonise those nasty EU countries.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

i bet easyjet has just chucked £20 on every flight to & from geneva

You'll need to Register first of course.

That is great news and makes total sense - trust the Swiss!

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

WHOAAAAHHH - I read this to mean that the incidence in UK per 100,000 must be within 60 of the incidence in Switzerland #notquiteoutoflessoibyet!

After all it is free

Yes, the average incidence of Covid in Switzerland is currently higher than almost all European countries and in some cantons it is extremely high so it doesn't make much sense excluding people from countries that are lower. If you're interested here is the link to the Covid incidence information. https://covid-19-schweiz.bagapps.ch/de-1.html

And Verbier just announced they’re opening on Friday Cool

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

Great news, this gives faint hope... thanks for posting! snowHead

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

snow reports

That is great news!

Still have to quarantine on the way back, but that is manageable

It seems to have really gone downhill in Switzerland in the last week. These are the ICU occupancy rates by canton from last week:
https://www.rts.ch/info/suisse/11691975-soins-intensifs-lits-et-respirateurs-ou-en-sont-les-hopitaux-suisses.html

I've seen elsewhere that Canton Solothurn is at 100 per cent capacity already.

You know it makes sense.

I had a minor surgery today in the Rennaz public hospital (Vaud) and the hospital seemed far from capacity. Suspect they can quickly increase ICU capacity if necessary.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

A snowHead

As BobInCH said, Verbier opens this Weekend. And at the moment, you can fly there without having to quarantine.

https://www.easyverbier.com/fr/debut-de-saison

A snowHead

Just got sent this. Tempting fate...

http://youtube.com/v/JzBq8SsRXXY

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Had an email from Easyjet today cancelling our flights Bristol to Geneva on 15th December Sad

You need to Login to know who's really who.

Just need UK to see sense & aknowledge that quarantine is pointless if coming back from country similar

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

You'll need to Register first of course.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

After all it is free

The virus isn't going away any time soon. Learning to live along side it may be the only way.

Cyprus came off the 'Bad' list today -- Skiing in the Troodos come February ??

@albob, Cyprus went on the bad list today.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

@halfhand, DOOHHH - -- my very very BAD ; perhaps my sub conscience only wants to hear good news..... (was listening to bbc radio 4)

snow reports

@BoardieK, that's a statement & a half. I certainly haven't seen that reported before or is it your theory?

@Jonny996, I'm just watching the press preview on BBC News

Front page of the Financial Times has -- "Scientists identify Coronavirus variant spread across Europe by 'risky' tourists"

can't read the rest - print too small...

You know it makes sense.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

A snowHead

There are certainly some people in our village who aren’t at all impressed with this decision.

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

It's the utopian belief in track and trace that's amusing.

If you even think it through a couple of successive layers, then most people would need to isolate. Very quickly it will take out most essential services too as the track "sphere" consumes those with and significantly those without any verified infection.

.......it's sort of simple if you @rayscoops, think it through.

You need to Login to know who's really who.

@Pruman I am on the fence on this, and appreciate your view. If no unnecessary travel, at all, anywhere, for a few months helped, then why not? If it significantly contained the spread at a time when (a) there's no vaccine and (b) the Dido-Serco Track & Trace is a fiasco then what's the alternative? If it let children attend school and people do essential shopping and kept essential supply chains running (but that's the max we can allow) isn't this better than an endless cycle of extensive local lockdowns and resurgence of infections/deaths?

On the other hand, if most of the infections are coming from home contacts, then a lot of these measures are pointless and highly damaging, both economically and socially. I'm getting the impression that the whole Lockdown mechanism is a very blunt tool indeed (whether local or national). And that the Govt won't take the measures we really need because ... well, I'm not clear why. It won't stop unnecessary international flights, it won't put those who do fly into secure hotels for 2 weeks, it won't fire Dido and cancel the Serco contract and invest the funding in our existing local T&T systems, it won't use the UK's extensive ANPR system to flag-up private cars travelling to/from Tier 3 zones, and so on. So we get the worst of both worlds: ineffective containment + massive economic impact.

So if we follow the official guidelines, then being in a ski resort in the same 'tier' as at home carries no extra risk. Driving my car to see a relative in the North of England vs driving via Eurotunnel and French autoroutes to a ski resort carries no extra risk. Skiing carries no extra risk compared to going to the gym, doing the shopping, refuelling the car, etc at home. Being at home with three children at school may even be risker than the family having to share the odd gondola. And so on.

So this is why I like the Swiss view of 'risk equivalence' determining whether visitors from another can or can't (effectively) visit: it keeps the economy going while limiting transmissions. But I can also see the objection that simply prohibiting holiday travel would be more far more effective as a containment measure.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

My 2cts.

Unfortunately, CV19 is very real and very nasty. I was talking to a Geneva genetic virology consultant while skiing together in Feb 20. He had already studied the genome and reckoned that parts were not natural. Evidence is emerging that a very similar CV virus was found by Chinese miners in 2013 and killed 4 of 6. Samples were taken to Wuhan BSL4 lab. I have no doubt curiosity killed the cat and scientists just had to have a play. Just like anthrax escaped from a UK Surrey BSL4 lab a few years ago, I am pretty sure that the same thing happened here.

It is very infectious and there is a huge conundrum. From the research and experience after 7 months, in UK 95% of symptomatic cases have shown symptoms by day 8. So a 10 day Q should be sufficient.
But it has also been reported that research has shown that up to 80% of those with infection are completely asymptomatic and unknowingly spread the virus. Hence the need for masks.
So what I haven't heard or read is how long does the virus remain active and contagious in an asymptomatic person?? Perhaps someone here knows???
Most get away with it, some die and some get "Long Covid".

The only precautions that work are no close contact and hygiene. So distance and wash hands and face. There are some who go to protests and immediately break the safe distance rule. The Covidiots just don't get it yet. There was a deluded woman on Radio 4 this morning who was saying "why restrictions, people are being sensible". Well photographic evidence shows the complete opposite. In fact commonsense is in very short supply for anything - evidenced by the rubbish left behind by picnicers etc when lockdown was lifted.
I want to ski all winter, and if that means some really quite simple precautions, which the Covidiots can't comprehend, then that is fine by me.

Current policies are still designed not to overload the Health systems and in UK winters with just flu are bad enough. We have less docs, nurses, beds/100k than most countries. All very well having Nightingale hospitals, but there are no spare boxes of staff to man them. Or would we prefer to see people dying where they fall and lie, as in Italy in March??

Another couple of thoughts:
The 1918 Spanish flu went on for 3 years. Agree no vaccination but then only 1bn on planet Earth. Today 7+bn. I'd wager that this will go round and round for 5 years.

The NHS/Care staff are catching C19 and dying in modern military campaign numbers and at a quicker death rate. I understand more have died in the first few months than the Armed Forces lost in the entire Iraq and Afghanistan campaigns - around 650. Not what they expected when they joined the NHS and Care services. I spent 38 years in the Armed Forces and had plenty of opportunity to discuss and think about the risk of bullet poisoning.

I was in an Oxford hospital last week for my own appointment and a elderly bloke was wearing blue mask just on very tip on nose. Got upset when I told him to wear it properly. And then the nurses tried to tell me off for rebuking him when they hadn't. Told me I was being nasty. Well, I prefer nasty and alive to Boris' whiff whaff piffle poffle and dead!! All Covidiots.

So skiing this winter will have challenges. But by and large it is in the open air and not in huge numbers together, so low risk. The real pinch points will be cable cars and mountain restaurants. CC numbers may well be quite limited. Instead of 60, 20 or less. Ski touring could become very popular. Restaurants will probably require booking a slot. Picnic on the snow becomes very appealing. Self catering should be pretty safe as long as accom is well cleaned between hirings. The 4pm Folie Douce etc table dancing should be history.

You'll need to Register first of course.

@ski3, we are taking about unnecessary travel though .... 80% of cases in Wales during this second wave of Covid are traced back to the summer from Spain (similar rates so let people travel freely, they said Wink

) ... having a bunch of newly infected people coming back from some other random country on top of the spread here in UK will just add further outbreaks in different areas on top of the ones we have at the moment - it’s not like a weighing scale in that country A has a similar outbreak as country B therefore all is well and let everyone mingle because the virus won’t spread.

People spread the virus, it doesn’t spread itself. Stopping people from interacting stops the spread, allowing people to interact (it happens when we travel) is not the best of ideas.

Of course there will always be the argument of driving and using an apartment and not interacting with anyone ...

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Very reasoned view @LaForet,

On this point ", it won't use the UK's extensive ANPR system to flag-up private cars travelling to/from Tier 3 zones, and so on. So we get the worst of both worlds: ineffective containment + massive economic impact."

As the last lockdown was relaxed we visited a friend out of london in Berkshire, adhered to number of people, only outside for Bbq, not in house, but travelling back was stopped on route because ANPR had flagged me as not locally registered, this near Yateley Hants. Questioned as to purpose, address visited and home address, specifically notified by officer of the covid reason and checks they where making. All ok checked against prevailing rules, so sent on our way.

Admittedly I've no idea of how many they'd interact with, but very clearly in place nevertheless.

After all it is free

>80% of cases in Wales during this second wave of Covid are traced back to the summer from Spain....

And what were they doing on holiday??

1. A SC apartment in the countryside going for walks and lunches in quiet restaurants??
2. Or partying the night away in a crowded, badly ventilated, hot and sweaty nightclub with all distance inhibitions thrown aside after a few stiff drinks, beer and wine??

1 is pretty safe, apart from air travel.
2 is being a Covidiot. But of course, the young adults feel the need to get up close and personal and hormone urges are impossible to stop!!

@colinstone, I think the travel bit to get there and back ... 10+ hours each way with, lots of different building and various means of transport, a lot of interaction with others ... is pretty important though ? even if you are careful when you get there ?

I am amazed that so many seem to be desperate for foreign travel, it’s not as if you can’t go on a mountain walk on in U.K. Puzzled

Unfortunately not everyone is likely to be as careful as you and the rules have to be bit if a blanket solution

any way, rules are in place so no point moaning about it ... not going to change anything Very Happy

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

@rayscoops When we drove down to CH in the summer we did it in one go and didn't have to go into any big buildings or 'mingle' at all en route F/CH. The most dangerous place was the Shell Garage at Ashford just before the Eurotunnel - completely hopeless covid (non)setup. 30 minutes sat in the car on the Eurotunnel wagon, then away: stopped for fuel twice at pay@pump stations (each had gel and wipes at the pump and one had staff disinfecting while we were there), used 4 small aires for driver switching, picnic and bio-breaks, and then arrived at the self-catering apartment with load of provisions we brought with us. Being summer, we got a gondola to ourselves on the morning trip up to the summit and spent the rest of the day walking outdoors, back to the apartment. And yes, we did quarantine properly the full 14 days on returning (it was what it was, so no complaint there). The only moan I'd have is that we weren't asked to show our Covid Qcode at Eurotunnel Immigration and no one followed-up to check we were quarantining back home - which was worrying, given this was not a busy travel period.

But I'd certainly have reservations about fly/driving/transfer bus - too much 'mingling' that's entirely out of our control and too dependent on the behaviour of others to be comfortable.

[Caveat/Edit: If you go to CH now it's 'against FO travel advice' (or whatever the phrases are) and most travel insurance policies would exclude some or all of the cover. You would need to check with your insurer and get a new revised policy document so you can be sure, and/or separate covid-specific gap insurance]

Help!!

Switzerland takes UK off Quarantine list

snowHeads Forum Index >>> The Piste