The skiing in zermatt remains open
Well just when we thought things couldn’t get much stranger along comes ‘retroactive quarantine‘! Even with that, the resort is open and we can still ski. It’s incredibly tough for a lot of businesses here. Working to the ever changing rules from Federal and Cantonal governments. Restaurants are open after 6 weeks, then told 10 days later they have to close for another month.
It’s not easy for the town, people working here or people visiting, but life is carrying on. Everyone is working with the regulations, there is space in the queues, you now have to wear a mask everywhere in the village and everyone is getting on with it.
WHAT's NEW?
Retroactive quarantine
This was a curve ball no one was expecting. But due to the new COVID variants found in the UK and South Africa on Monday 21st the federal government announced new strict measures.
- Anyone who has traveled from the UK or SA and arrived after the 14th December must immediately self isolate/quarantine for 10 days from their arrival.
- Failure to do so will result in a fine of 10,000chf
- The Federal Council has also introduced a general entry ban for all foreign nationals seeking to enter Switzerland from the UK and South Africa. This is intended in particular to stop travel from these countries for tourism purposes.
Restaurants in valais to close on 26th december
All restaurants in Valais are to close after service on the 26th December. They will remain closed until the 22nd January.
More information available here: https://www.zermatt.ch/en/covid-19
THE NUMBERS...
New cases in Switzerland
Here are the numbers from today, 23rd December 2020. The graph below shows the change in R-rate over time since the outbreak of the pandemic.
New cases in Valais
Cases in Valais appear to continue on the downwards trend for now. The image below shows the change in R rate in Valais.
The situation in Zermatt
There is more and more opening every day and now most of the runs and lifts are open. The new Kumme lift opened on time on the 19th and is an incredible addition to the ski area, taking us from the corner on Tuftern all the way to Rothorn in just over 10 minutes.
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.
