(CNN) – British tourists fled Switzerland’s Verbier ski resort “clandestinely” under cover of darkness rather than submitting to a new quarantine for British visitors, a local official said Monday.
On December 21, the Swiss Federal Council retroactively imposed an entry ban and a ten-day quarantine period on all travelers from the UK and South Africa – who have discovered another new variant – that is, anyone traveling from the two countries to Switzerland since December. has entered 14 is required for quarantine.
“Some British tourists left immediately, while others decided to stay a little longer. Some of them fled clandestinely at night,” Jean-Marc Sandoz, spokesman for the city of Bagnes, about 20 minutes from Verbier, told CNN.
‘They left … as soon as they found their way back to their homes,’ he added, noting that the exact number of tourists who left the resort has not been confirmed.
According to Sandoz, 370 vacationers in the UK were registered as being required to comply with the 10-day quarantine order.
“Some of them had to leave for France because planes for the UK are standing still in Switzerland,” said Sandoz.
“You can’t blame them. In most cases the quarantine was unbearable. Imagine staying in a twenty square meter hotel room with four people and they had to pay to stay in a Swiss ski resort,” he added. to it.
According to Simon Wiget, head of Verbier’s tourist office, British tourists usually make up 21% of the holidaymakers staying at the resort.
While scientists are looking for more information about the variant discovered in the UK, its impact is already being felt.
Authorities tightened pandemic restrictions in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland during the festive season.
New cases of the variant have been discovered worldwide, including in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Ireland, Jordan, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, South Korea, Spain and Sweden.