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.
This content was published on
1 minute
FOPH/SWI swissinfo.ch/Keystone-SDA/ilj
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.
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.
More
More
Coronavirus: the situation in Switzerland
This content was published on
An overview of the latest Covid-related information in the Alpine nation.
This content was published on
Swiss public broadcasters RTS and SRF are drastically reducing their communications via the social network X (formerly Twitter).
Israel: president of Swiss universities rejects academic boycott
This content was published on
Luciana Vaccaro, president of Swissuniversities, the umbrella group of Swiss universities, is not in favour of an academic boycott of Israeli universities.
First large-scale alpine solar plant approved in Switzerland
This content was published on
The approval was met with satisfaction by the project's organisers, but it also brings with it a certain amount of pressure.
Medieval squirrels may have ‘helped spread leprosy’
This content was published on
An examination of squirrel remains in the United Kingdom has opened up interesting questions and possibilities in terms of the history of the disease.
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
New Covid variants account for 70% of new infections in Switzerland
This content was published on
Despite a stagnation in the number of new infections, the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) has called for restraint and more testing.
More variant Covid-19 carriers detected in Switzerland
This content was published on
Members of the Swiss Covid-19 taskforce said on Tuesday that they are closely monitoring the situation with the help of universities. Cantons have also been stepping up their contact tracing efforts to keep abreast of the variant strain’s spread. The general spread of the virus stabilised over the Christmas period, but its numbers are only…
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.