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State of emergency in Wengen BE. Lauberhorn races have been canceled. Instead, the nearly 1,000 residents now have to go to the massive test. It started on Wednesday at 12 noon. The first results are expected on Thursday. The Bern Health Directorate wants to get an overview and find out how serious the situation is.
The trigger for the crown fiasco: a tourist from Great Britain. The new B117 virus variant was brought to Wengen. An aggressive and more contagious version of the coronavirus. And the numbers skyrocketed. In one hotel alone, 28 cases were added between December 27 and January 10.
Not all were infected with the crown mutation. “About ten people are known to date. However, we assumed that all or almost all of the people who tested positive were infected with the mutated virus, ”Gundekar Giebel from the Bern health department tells BLICK.
Outbreak at Wengen Ski Club
Therefore, not only Wengen residents need to be assessed, but also tourists. Even if you don’t have any symptoms. The appeal of the Bern authority: “Everyone who has been to the ski area is urged to take the test. Testing is possible throughout Switzerland. “The Wengen Ski Club is currently the focus of the health department. There, two ski instructors and four children tested positive for the virus.
It is not yet clear which variant of the virus it is. However, Giebel assumes that these are also B117 infections. Many members come from the Canton of Bern. But some also from Zurich, Biel or Freiburg.
“We stick to the measures”
The mutated variant of the virus could have already spread, and that is exactly what authorities want to avoid. “Right now, many of our members are in quarantine,” Andreas Regez (64), president of the ski club, tells BLICK. He couldn’t say exactly how many. “I sent the authorities a list of our members when they informed me about the corona outbreak at our club on Saturday.”
The venue cannot say how the virus entered the club. There are many options. In hotels or in gondolas, for example. The club president emphasizes: “We have adhered to the measures.” Who could be infected is now fully tracked. Regez sees it almost positively: “We will be the best tested people in Switzerland.”
