The numbers of COVID cases are still on the up everywhere, here in Switzerland we are seeing similar changes as the rest of Europe. The government are still determined to prevent another national lockdown. In this post from SwissInfo the suggestion is that the current plan of the individual cantons having the responsibility is still in place.
For a really good overview on the recent changes and what is going on in Switzerland this page from SwissInfo is updated regularly.
WHAT's NEW?
MORE COUNTRIES ADDED TO THE SWISS HIGH RISK LIST
More countries have been added to the list just before our half term here in Zermatt. In terms of how the winter will pan out it was interesting as there were a lot of people keen to get away for a break but to discover that your booked/planned destination goes ‘on the list’ on Friday afternoon makes for a lot of last minute changes and cancellations. At the moment even if people are wanting and able to travel it is very difficult to make a plan.
THE NUMBERS...
New cases in Switzerland
The cases have gone up dramatically in the last couple of weeks. Looking at the two graphs opposite we can see they have had to change the scale due to the new numbers published at the start of this week.
New cases in Valais
Since our last post 2 weeks ago numbers have increased pretty dramatically in Valais too. We now have an average over the last 2 weeks of 5o cases per day, up from an average of 11 per day for the previous 2 weeks.
The different colours are for the 3 cantons of:
- Geneva (yellow)
- Zurich (blue)
- Valais (red)
The situation in Zermatt
In Zermatt it is much colder, we are seeing the snowline creep down the mountains and there is a hopeful excitement about the arrival of winter. Furgsattel opened at the weekend so we can now ski down to Trockener Steg and the conditions are great.
Zermatt Tourism released an update on plans for the season recently and while there seems to be a focus on Swiss guests (understandably right now) they are very much planning on an open season and skiing as normal!
The new gondola from Kumme to Rothorn is on schedule and ready to open before Christmas. You can see the top station (as well as the epic view) from the new Rothorn Webcam here.
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.
