Hundreds of British tourists flee quarantine in Verbier, Switzerland, this week in what Britain’s The Guardian called the exodus a “cloak-and-dagger operation.” Swiss authorities are reporting that about half of the Britons ordered to wait out their quarantine in the ski resort of Verbier have gone into hiding.
Through a variety of means, including cellphone pings, Swiss authorities were indeed able to trace and locate 420 visitors from the UK and advise them to self-quarantine. Bagnes municipality spokesperson Jean-Marc Sandoz said Swiss authorities had identified 420 guests from the United Kingdom and ordered them to quarantine before Christmas. The majority have now fled the quarantine.
The authorities began to suspect the British tourists of fleeing quarantine when meals delivered for them were left untouched. Hoteliers began to suspect “secret departures” because calls to quarantine rooms “were repeatedly unanswered” and meals left in front of rooms “had not been touched,” said Sandoz.
Although he was not in favor of Switzerland’s decision to impose quarantine requirements for people arriving from the U.K., the situation beleaguered him. “We understand their anger,” he said. That was the worst week our community has ever experienced,” Sandoz told newspaper Sonntags Zeitung – calling it an “unprecedented situation.” He said Bagnes felt abandoned by both the federal and regional governments.
Switzerland Reacts to UK Coronavirus Mutation
On December 20, following the detection of the new mutation of Covid-19 in Britain, Switzerland blocked all flights from the U.K. and South Africa due to the new coronavirus variant emerging in those countries. A day later, the Swiss authorities ordered a retroactive ten-day quarantine from the arrival date of all who had arrived in Switzerland from the U.K. since December 14.
At the start of the pandemic in Europe, the Austrian ski resort of Ischgl became a virus hotspot. An October official report deplored errors that allowed thousands of tourists to get infected. As a result, ski resorts in France, Italy, and many other countries have closed ski resorts to tourists this season. Ski resorts in Austria are also open, but Austria’s quarantine means very few foreign tourists can enter the country.
But Verbier, an alpine village located in the municipality of Bagnes in the Canton of Valais, is a popular ski destination for British tourists, and it remained open to visitors. In fact, the Canton du Valais is nicknamed “Little London” by locals for its popularity with British visitors who make up 20% of tourists during a typical winter season.
Fleeing Quarantine
Swiss authorities had put the British tourists in quarantine in response to the new, more infectious variant of the coronavirus. About 50 fled immediately after being ordered to quarantine. According to spokesperson Jean-Marc Sandoz, of the remaining 370, less than a dozen were still there on Sunday. “Many of them stayed in quarantine for a day before they set off unnoticed under the cover in the darkness,” he said. On top of that, he says that some tourists later contacted their hotels to find out whether they still had to pay for the nights they had initially booked.
The obvious issue for the British tourists is that for most who were there to ski for a few days, a ten-day quarantine would mean forgoing the purpose of the ski holiday until it is time to return home. They didn’t just come to Verbier to ski. They were fleeing quarantine of the coronavirus mutation-drive lockdown in the U.K. and, to a large extent, to fleeing the reality of the global conditions that mandate curfews, quarantines, and lockdown – just about everywhere.
Backlash – Covid Stigma
Following news that the mutated UK- coronavirus variant is up to 70% more infectious, many parts of Europe now view the Brits with suspicion – as though they are carrying leprosy or the black plague. SonntagsZeitung reported “xenophobic resentments” against British tourists in the upmarket resort. “Anyone who speaks English is suspicious,” it said. Local media quoted an elderly woman from London, self-quarantining in her second home in Verbier, saying, “For days I was put under general suspicion. It was unbearable.”
On Sunday, the Swiss health ministry said Switzerland detected two cases of the British Covid-19 variant and two of the South African variant. Neighboring Liechtenstein detected one case.
Where Did The British Tourists Flee To?
The Swiss authorities are currently investigating how and to where did the British tourists flee. The whereabouts of many of them are still unknown. They were likely to head elsewhere in Switzerland or across the border in France. As they will stick out like sore thumbs in eastern France, Swiss authorities report that some of the some of these British Covidiots ve indeed reemerged on the other side of the border on Sunday. Many have reported back to their hotels in France, from which they had likely drive to ski in Verbier.
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