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Many Britons may not have violated quarantine rules when they fled the Valais ski resort in a hurry.
Verbier Holiday Village: Guests from Britain fled last week after the federal government ordered a retroactive quarantine.
Photo: Dominic Steinmann
200 Britons fled the Valais ski resort in Verbier in a hurry after federal authorities ordered a retrospective quarantine for travelers from Britain on December 21. Last Sunday’s newspaper report on the British escape made international headlines. Now it turns out that many of them can hardly be accused of breaking the rules. Blame it on the fact that many Brits headed for the borders rather than quarantine., It is likely a conflicting communication from the Federal Office of Public Health (BAG).
Federal authorities sent a text message to British guests on December 21 that all those who had entered Switzerland from Britain after December 14 would have to undergo a mandatory 10-day quarantine from the date of arrival.tin. This was communicated by the authorities at a press conference that day..
In the quarantine ordinance published at the same time by the BAG, however, the rules were formulated differently at a crucial point. It says there: “People who entered Switzerland since December 14, 2020 from the UK or South Africa must enter quarantine no later than December 22, 2020 at midnight. That means: In contrast to public notification from federal authorities, the ordinance left a window of time for the British to leave until midnight. Anyone who, according to the authorities’ notification, managed to leave Switzerland between 3 p.m. and midnight did not break the rules. In any case, this is how the regulation can be interpreted in good faith.
BAG spokesperson: “That is not a contradiction”
Verbier hoteliers claim to have heard from their guests that even the British embassy advised the British to use the time until midnight to leave due to conflicting Swiss communication. Larissa Saxer, a spokeswoman for the British embassy, simply states: “We have emphasized that all travelers from Great Britain arriving in Switzerland must be quarantined upon arrival.” At the same time, it refers to the updated travel tips for the British. Even these leave at least interpretationssopen game room.
In the media office of the Federal Office of Public Health, however, no contradiction is seen in the communication of the retroactive quarantine: “These people had to be given a brief period in which they could become aware of the obligation quarantine and start the quarantine, as the ordinance says immediately after its resolution. it has entered into force, ”says BAG spokesperson Kathrin Holenstein. However, it is clear that those leaving Switzerland in the time window before midnight hawould have violated the quarantine obligation. “However, it is up to the responsible cantonal police authorities to verify whether there is criminal behavior in a specific individual case,” says Holenstein.
