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Switzerland: Parts of Germany, Italy and Austria added to coronavirus quarantine list

Switzerland has expanded its mandatory quarantine list, adding parts of Germany, Italy and Austria - as well as seven other countries. Germany’s two largest cities have been placed on the list.

Published: 9 October 2020 18:11 CEST
Updated: 10 October 2020 11:24 CEST
Switzerland: Parts of Germany, Italy and Austria added to coronavirus quarantine list
Parts of Germany, Austria and Italy have been added to the list. Image: GIAN EHRENZELLER / POOL / AFP

Switzerland on Friday expanded its list of ‘high risk’ countries and regions from which arrivals will be required to quarantine. 

Regions of Germany, Austria and Italy have been added to the list.

In addition, the countries of Georgia, Iran, Jordan, Canada, Russia, Slovakia and Tunisia have been added to the list. 

Bolivia, the Dominican Republic, Namibia, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago have been removed. 

Quarantine: How does Switzerland decide a country is 'high risk'? 

The ten-day quarantine restrictions, aimed at stemming the spread of the novel coronavirus, come into force from Monday, October 12th. 

 

 

The German city states of Berlin and Hamburg have been placed on the list. 

The Italian region of Campania – which includes the city of Naples – has been added to the list, along with Sardinia and Veneto.

Liguria is the only other region of Italy on the list, having previously been added on September 28th. 

UPDATE: Everything you need to know about Switzerland's quarantine rules 

Arrivals from the Austrian states of Burgenland and Salzburg will also be required to quarantine. Vienna has been on the list since September 11th, while Upper Austria and Lower Austria were added on September 28th. 

Switzerland is continuing to exempt immediate border regions in neighbouring countries from the quarantine requirements.

When placed on the list on September 14th, France and Austria were broken up into regions rather than considered as a whole country due to the importance of the border regions to the Swiss economy. 

In making the announcement, Swiss health minister Alain Berset effectively implied that border regions would remain exempt from quarantine requirements due to the economic and social connections which span both sides of the border.

The government in Bern said earlier this month it was seeking a “pragmatic” approach by exempting areas impacted by heavy cross-border trade, and which are home to many who cross over daily to work in Switzerland.

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TRAVEL NEWS

What’s the environmental fee Lufthansa, Austrian and Swiss airlines will charge you?

German airline group Lufthansa, which includes national flyers Austrian and Swiss airlines have said it will add an environmental charge to passenger fares in Europe to cover the cost of increasing EU climate regulations.

Published: 26 June 2024 13:30 CEST
What's the environmental fee Lufthansa, Austrian and Swiss airlines will charge you?

How much will the cost be?

The extra cost will be added to all flights sold and operated by the group departing from EU countries as well as Britain, Norway and Switzerland, the group said in a statement.

It will apply to flights from January next year and, depending on the route and fare, will vary from €1 to €72.

What’s the justification for the cost?

“The airline group will not be able to bear the successively increasing additional costs resulting from regulatory requirements in the coming years on its own,” said Lufthansa.

The group — whose airlines include Lufthansa, Eurowings, Austrian, Swiss and Brussels Airlines — said it is facing extra costs from EU regulations related to sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

The aviation sector is among the toughest to decarbonise and SAF — a biofuel that produces lower carbon emissions than traditional jet fuel  — is seen as a crucial ingredient to hitting emissions targets but is currently more expensive to produce.

In March, Airlines for Europe, which represents the continent’s largest airline groups including Lufthansa, complained that production of the fuel in Europe is minimal and lags far behind projects launched in the United States.

Lufthansa said it also faces extra costs from changes to the EU’s emissions trading system, and other regulatory measures.

The group aims to halve its net carbon emissions by 2030 compared to 2019, and to go carbon neutral by 2050.

What is the EU legislation?

The EU legislation requires airlines to gradually increase use of the fuel on routes departing EU airports.

Carriers will need to include two percent of SAF in their fuel mix from next year, rising to six percent in 2030 and then soaring to 70 percent from 2050.

What’s the sate of Lufthansa group’s finances?

After having to be bailed out by the German government during the coronavirus pandemic, Lufthansa racked up healthy profits in 2022 and 2023 as travel demand roared back.

But it was hard hit by a series of strikes at the start of this year, reporting a hefty first-quarter loss.

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