COVID Update – March 7th 2021

GENTLY UNLOCKING....

Apologies for the delay in this post for anyone who reads this regularly! It’s been warm and we’ve been skiing! At the end of Feb the Federal Government announced the first stages of unlocking. For all the details on the ‘cautious reopening’ check the BAG post here. The next set of relaxation is set for the 22nd March, however the Federal Council has set targets that must be achieved before the next step is taken: the positivity rate must be below five per cent, fewer than 250 beds in intensive care units should be occupied by COVID-19 patients, and the average reproduction rate over the previous seven-day period must be below 1.

So hopefully  that will all happen as the month progresses.

With the updates on unlocking the UK and no travel until at least May 17th there is a feeling that the winter is now fairly rapidly drawing to a close. We had the quietest half term in our 17 years of Summit and like everyone are looking forward to next season!

WHAT's NEW?

SINCE MARCH 1st SHOPS ARE OPEN AGAIN

From Monday, 1 March, the following was allowed to open:

  • shops
  • museums 
  • library reading rooms
  • outdoor sports and leisure facilities
  • zoos and
  • botanical gardens

Outdoor events for family and friends and sports and cultural activities involving up to 15 people will also be permitted. Young people up to the age of 20 will be able to take part in most sporting and cultural activities without restriction.

The next stage in reopening is scheduled for 22 March, but will depend on the epidemiological situation.

Latest measures

See the latest measures here:

Special provisions for ski resorts

 

THE NUMBERS...

New cases in Switzerland

The R rate for the whole country currently is at 1.04 which is still higher than the 1.01 of the last post. It will be interesting to see what happens to it as the last 2 weeks have been Swiss holidays and there were a lot more people in town and on the slopes.
The 7 day moving average on daily new cases has moved from 1545 down to 1021.

New cases in Valais

The r rate in Valais is up just over 1 again for the last 2 weeks  although the new cases currently are trending downwards. This post I have put the cases in Valais over the last 3 months, the trend is downwards and hopefully it stays that way!

The situation in Zermatt

We have had a much warmer few weeks and some great skiing. Our Summit Professional Development Level 4 Training Program has been in full swing and we have had some fantastic conditions for training. The team have 1 more week to go before the BASI Level 4 Tech exam next week. The temperature has dropped and there is a little snow on the horizon so hopefully they will have great conditions for the course.

Half term came and went without much more work. The resort was certainly busier but with no English speakers allowed to travel demand for native English speaking instructors was certainly not what it normally is.

Matterhorn Paradise lift pass policy re COVID for winter 20/21

In a nutshell if you book your lift pass online but can’t make it out to Zermatt due to travel bans, you or persons cloasely associated catching COVID-19 or resort facilities being closed due to federal or cantonal authorities then you will be issued with a credit note for the lift pass that is valid for 5 years. There are other insurance options and some lift passes are not valid for the credit note scheme so be sure to check the terms and conditions in detail.

Picture of Henry Meredith Hardy

Henry Meredith Hardy

Henry is one of the owners of Summit and has been in Zermatt since 2000. He came to the mountains to ski and still loves it. Henry also works as a trainer for BASI and heads up out various training programs.

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