Switzerland on Monday imposed an entry ban on arrivals from Britain and South Africa and ordered retroactive quarantine for all arrivals from the countries since December 14.
The federal government said the move was intended to stop tourism from countries following the discovery there of new, more contagious variants of COVID-19.
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It stressed that the mutation had not been detected so far in Switzerland, which is already battling high and rising daily numbers of new coronavirus cases.
Swiss ski resorts are a top draw for European winter holidaymakers from Britain.
“Following the discovery of a new, more contagious variant of the coronavirus in the UK and South Africa, the Federal Council today decided to take steps to prevent the further spread of this new virus strain,” it said in a statement.
“All persons who have entered Switzerland from these two countries since December 14 must go into quarantine for 10 days.
“The Federal Council has also introduced a general entry ban from today for all foreign nationals seeking to enter Switzerland from the UK and South Africa. This is intended in particular to stop travel from these countries for tourism purposes.”
Following a suspension announced on Sunday, the government said air travel between Switzerland and Britain and South Africa was now prohibited.
“A temporary derogation from the flight ban is being considered for persons resident in the UK or South Africa currently staying in Switzerland so that they may return home” — and vice versa for Swiss residents,” the government said.
“However, it is imperative that such return journeys do not lead to infections.”
Switzerland also immediately withdrew freedom of movement privileges from British nationals, which were due to expire at the end of year in any case, as Britain leaves the European Union.
Switzerland is not in the EU but is part of the Schengen open-borders area.
“Persons from the UK are therefore subject to a general ban on entering Switzerland,” it said.
The government added: “No cases of the new strain have so far been identified in Switzerland.”
The New Strain
The United Kingdom has recorded 2.04 million cases of COVID-19 and 67,401 deaths.
There have been reports of a new strain of the virus in the United Kingdom and this has necessitated the suspension of flights from the country to France, Germany, Ireland and other countries in Europe.
Canada, India, Argentina, Chile and Colombia have all joined the list of non European countries to suspend direct flights to and from the UK.
Nigeria’s former vice President, Atiku Abubakar has also urged the Federal government to consider imposing temporary suspension of flights from the UK.
“The reason Nigeria took a harder than necessary hit during the first wave of the #COVID19 virus is that the Federal Government failed to heed the warnings of well-meaning Nigerians, like myself and others, to shut down our borders once the virus became a pandemic,” Atiku said in a statement on Sunday.
“Hindsight is 20/20. Nevertheless, we must learn from history, or we stand the risk of repeating it.
“The new strain of COVID19 that has erupted in the United Kingdom, and specifically, London, can add to Nigeria’s health emergency if we do not act with an abundance of caution and temporarily halt all flights to and from the UK until this new strain is brought under control.
“Already, prudent nations are taking prompt action, and Nigeria must take necessary precautions due to the volume of air traffic between Nigerian airports and London, where this new strain has erupted.
“We must face the reality that our health sector is not sufficiently prepared to handle a sudden and unpredictable surge of this pandemic. We have already lost lives needlessly. We need not lose more.
“In the case of this virus, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” he said.
