Swiss return from coronavirus quarantine in France
The Swiss nationals and their Chinese family members who left Wuhan were quarantined on February 2 in France.
Keystone / Sebastien Nogier
The quarantine of five Swiss nationals and three Chinese relatives who had been repatriated from Wuhan to France ended on Saturday evening as planned. None of them contracted the coronavirus.
Six of those quarantined – four Swiss nationals and two Chinese – returned safely to Switzerland on Sunday in a bus chartered by the Swiss foreign affairs department. The two others declined the offer of Swiss authorities and chose to return on their own.
The eight people had been repatriated from Wuhan, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak, by the French authorities and quarantined on February 2 in Aix-en-Provence. During their stay in France, they were accompanied by staff of the Swiss consulate in Marseille and were able to communicate with their relatives without any problems, according to a spokesperson from the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs.
The news comes as the first death in Europe from the virus was recorded over the weekend in France and the total number infected globally reached nearly 70,000.
On Friday, the Federal Office of Public Health provided an update on the situation in Switzerland indicating that around 250 people have been tested so far for the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, in Switzerland. But none of the samplesExternal link have tested positive.
More
More
Swiss health officials give coronavirus quarantine update
This content was published on
The Swiss citizens affected by coronavirus quarantine measures are doing fine, and some will end quarantine soon, Swiss health officials have said.
Train vs plane: would you take a direct train between London and Geneva?
Eurostar is planning to run direct trains from Britain to Germany and Switzerland from the early 2030s. Would you favour the train over the plane? If not, why not?
Abbot of Saint-Maurice steps down following sex abuse report
This content was published on
Jean Scarcella has decided to step down as Abbot of Saint-Maurice in the Swiss canton of Valais, the abbey announced on Saturday.
Philipp Matthias Bregy named new president of Centre Party
This content was published on
Valais National Councillor Philipp Matthias Bregy is the new President of the Centre Party. The delegates elected him as the successor to Gerhard Pfister on Saturday in Bern without discussion.
Global call for active neutrality launched from Geneva
This content was published on
A number of players have launched a worldwide appeal for active neutrality in Geneva at a time when the major powers are taking a tougher line. The city is competing with Vienna to attract an international congress on this issue in 2026.
This content was published on
The M'Tongé gorilla has died at Basel Zoo at the age of 26. The dominant male had to be euthanised on Friday morning owing to a parasite infection.
This content was published on
Swiss Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter, who holds the rotating Swiss presidency this year, has been invited to Paris by French President Emmanuel Macron.
Swiss canton coordinates donations for landslide destroyed village
This content was published on
The Swiss canton of Valais to form committee to coordinate CHF 57.4 million donations for village destroyed by a landslide.
Body of Blatten landslide victim found and identified
This content was published on
The body of 64-year-old man, who has been missing since part of the Brich glacier collapsed on the Swiss village of Blatten has been found.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Coronavirus: Two Swiss nationals face quarantine at sea
This content was published on
Two Swiss nationals are trapped in their cabins on a cruise ship in Japan after ten cases of coronavirus were discovered on board.
Swiss citizens repatriated from Wuhan arrive in France
This content was published on
A plane carrying five Swiss nationals and three of their Chinese family members from Wuhan has arrived near Marseille in France.
Switzerland hopes to repatriate citizens from China at the weekend
This content was published on
France has offered to fly the ten people to Marseilles where they will be quarantined for 14 days when they arrive. Officials said that all Swiss citizens in China are healthy and reiterated that there are no cases of Coronavirus in Switzerland so far. The Swiss foreign ministry said there are more than 4,000 Swiss…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.