Covid-19: Canada on Swiss high-risk list

Travellers, as seen at Zurich Airport Keystone / Alexandra Wey

Canada has been placed on Switzerland’s list of countries with an increased risk of infection by the coronavirus. Those arriving from Canada must go into quarantine.

Announcing the move, which came into force on Friday evening, the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) said that the P.1 variant of the virus, which is linked to Brazil, was “strongly present on Canadian territory and could reduce the protection offered by a vaccine or an earlier Covid-19 infection”.

“The P1 variant is not yet widespread in Switzerland. We are therefore doing all we can to stop its spread as much as possible,” the FOPH said in a tweetExternal link.

Travellers arriving from Canada will therefore be subject to a ten-day quarantineExternal link, which can be shortened from day seven onwards with a negative Covid test.

[#COVID19External link] As of today 6PM (CET), Canada is on Switzerland's list of high-risk countries. More info (FR) ⤵️ https://t.co/ObYDuZqQChExternal link

— Canada Switzerland (@CanSwitzerland) April 16, 2021External link

List

Switzerland maintains a listExternal link of countries and areas which it considers to have higher risk of a coronavirus infection. It is updated regularly by the FOPH.

P.1 variant infections are on the riseExternal link in Canada, particularly in the western part of the country. An outbreak of P.1 has been linked to the ski resort of Whistler. Overall, the country is dealing with a sharp third wave of the virus. Several provinces have broken records for new daily cases and hospital admissions.

According to Swiss figures released by the FOPH on Friday, there have been 13 cases of P.1 in Switzerland so far. The most dominant variant is B.1.1.7, which is was first recorded in the United Kingdom.