Here we are another 2 weeks on. We have started this week with a couple more press conferences from the government and for now it looks like there will be no new federal measures put in place. They have suggested that the situation is better, but hospitalisations are still increasing so we have to keep doing as we have been, following the rules, social distancing and wearing masks. Here is a summary of the changes over the last couple of months from the government website bag.admin.ch
WHAT's NEW?
Is a vaccine on the horizon?
The UK news has been full of talk of a vaccine arriving sometime in early December, this would be great. Here they are talking about the first half of 2021. Not sure how much it will help this season, but it’s great news if it does mean travel can start to relax in the future again!
WHERE CAN I TRAVEL TO?
One of the things that we are all finding very challenging in this ever changing environment is keeping up to date with where you can and can’t go with quarantine rules constantly changing. One of our team passed this link from Skyscanner on to us. So you can easily see all the restrictions traveling from your country of residence at a glance.
New website reporting cases from the government
For anyone who has become obsessed with studying the cases and how the pandemic is evolving the Swiss Government have recently published a new website with all the cases, by canton, number of people isolating due to tracing etc.
THE NUMBERS...
New cases in Switzerland
Our 7 day average is not quite double what it was 2 weeks ago but the hope is from here that rate of increase is starting to slow down and the curve will level out…we shall see in 2 weeks time.
New cases in Valais
Valais is still a canton where we are seeing a lot of cases in Switzerland. The stricter measures of mask wearing, working from home where possible etc were brought in here a week before they became a federal law throughout the country. So it is really interesting to see what is happening here and whether the numbers are not continuing to increase.
The situation in Zermatt
Since our last post the major changes in town are that the restaurants & bars have closed. You can still get takeaway and more restaurants are doing that. The shops are open and the skiing is still open. For all up to date details then check out zermatt.ch. The conditions are fantastic for the time of year and up on the mountain it is a quieter version of a normal autumn with the ski test and some instructor training going on.
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.
