Coronavirus: hundreds of British tourists flee from Swiss ski resort quarantine

Some Britons have re-emerged in France after escaping from Verbier

A local official criticised the hastily introduced quarantine rules for people arriving from the UK where a new virus strain was detected

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A gondola in the Alpine resort of Verbier, Switzerland. Photo: AFP

Published: 9:08pm, 27 Dec 2020Updated: 9:33pm, 27 Dec 2020

Hundreds of guests supposed to quarantine in connection with a recently discovered mutation of the coronavirus have disappeared from the Swiss ski resort of Verbier, which is very popular with Britons.

Some have since re-emerged in France, Jean-Marc Sandoz, spokesman for the municipality of Bagnes, to which Verbier belongs, said on Sunday.

Swiss authorities had identified 420 guests from Britain who had quarantined before Christmas. About 50 left immediately, and of the 370 others, less than a dozen were still there on Sunday, he said. “We understand their anger,” Sandoz added.

He sharply criticised the hastily and retroactively introduced quarantine requirements for people arriving from the UK.

“Families with small children suddenly got stuck on 20 square metres,” said Sandoz. “It was unbearable.”

Those who left for France will find ski resorts closed as part of the country‘s coronavirus restrictions. But they would not be confined inside as in Switzerland.