Does the coronavirus affect trips to Switzerland?

Supposed to travel to Switzerland on 26th March, hopefully everything will be better at that time. Another thing I kinda worried is being racially abused, because I'm from Asia (I'm Malaysian Chinese). Hopefully Swiss people are kind though.

Hello Yenjan10,

We all have our fingers crossed, that the situation worldwide will develop to the better!!! Follow the links posted in this thread for official information.

When talking about being racially abused I don't think you need to really worry in Switzerland! Of course you can find unpleasant exceptions everywhere, but generally I would say that Swiss people are very used to a multi cultural surrounding and generally interested and respectful. They can maybe sometimes be a bit introverted and reserved, one sais.

Don't worry, is my advice!

Enjoy and get back to us anytime for more input.

Best,
Steph

I am planning to visit in July 20th to July 31st, but have 2 night stay in bromio and 2 night in San vigilio de marabbe Italy and back to Davos Switzerland, are these 2 town affected by coronovirus , any advice

Hello again,

<<... on 26th March, hopefully everything will be better at that time. >> I would humbly suggest that is too optimistic. Keep abreast of the daily updates that are listed earlier in this thread, follow all their advice, and you should be okay. Just don't take and unnecessary risks. Switzerland has an excellent medical system.

Check out the map and table at gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6 This is not over; it is spreading. There is also a suspicion that the extent of cases in Iran is being greatly understated.

As for being <<racially abused>> I would not worry about that at all. I would say that chances of you experiencing that are extremely remote, especially in the larger cities and in Romandie. We are talking about Switzerland here, not the USA.

"Another thing I kinda worried is being racially abused, because I'm from Asia (I'm Malaysian Chinese). "

I'm an Asian American and have visited Switzerland 4 times and have never experienced anything remotely racial. However, my Asian friends living in Geneva and Lausanne have started to experience coronavirus-induced discrimination. They said that juveniles yelled at them, "Corona, go home." Granted, there are a few bad people in any society.

I hate to say it, but young people usually learn those things from adults.

Hi Krahimk,

It's too early to tell. A lot can change in 4.5 months. Those towns, if you mean Bormio, are in Northern Italy. They can best be avoided at the moment, but things might be very different in July. Please keep checking the links in my original post: www.myswissalps.com/forum/topic/does-the-corona-virus-affect-trips-to-switzerland.

(From RTN): The government of Neuchâtel announced new measures this Wednesday to try to stem the spread of the disease. The Conseil d'État now prohibits events and gatherings of more than 500 people in a closed environment. The government recommends that organizers stop or postpone gatherings involving several dozens of people to beyond April.

All study trips and ski camps are canceled from Monday until April 30.

In its message, the Conseil d'État indicates that "faced with the growth of cases detected in Switzerland, the strategy aiming to identify the chains of transmission of the virus risks is quickly proving to be insufficient". The evolution of the epidemic risks rapidly requesting disproportionate resources, notably health.

I also notice that the Johns Hopkins interactive map mentioned earlier in this thread will not fully configure, so presently it does not provide any updated information.

I just checked and the Johns Hopkins interactive map is up and running again. The number of confirmed cases in Switzerland has jumped to 90, 12th on the world list. This is up from 46 cases two days ago. Thankfully, there have been no deaths, and 3 have recovered.

we are travelling on march 12 to zurich.hope everything is ok..really worries and excited

Hi,

In view of the quarantine measures taken by the Swiss Govt, I wonder how the following activities are affected:

1. FIFA Museum, Zurich

2. Zurich old town walking tour organised by Zurich Tourism- Saturday 11AM

3. Maison cailler

4. La Maison du Gruyère

5. Gruyères Castle

6. CERN lab museum

7. The Geneva Water Fountain

8. Geneva Lake tour

9. Paragliding activities in Interlaken

10. Cruise on Lake Brienz

11. Jungfrau Pass Train

12. Grindelwald activities

13. Glacier Express, Zermatt

14. Thermal bath, Zurich

15. Leukerbad Therme bath, Zermatt

Hi Vigneshlabam,

at the moment there isn't any city or place under quarantine in Switzerland and it is impossible to tell what will bring the future and how the government will react.

You can check which cantons have coronavirus cases at www.swissinfo.ch/eng/covid-19_coronavirus--the-situation-in-switzerland/45592192.

I recommend to write to your tour organizer and ask them directly about the tour. I think at this moment you cannot do much just wait to see what will happen.

Ildiko

I'm wondering why these three websites have different count of cases

1. Worldometer

www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#page-top

2. Swiss Info

www.swissinfo.ch/eng/covid-19_coronavirus--the-situation-in-switzerland/45592192

3. FOPH

www.bag.admin.ch/bag/en/home/krankheiten/ausbrueche-epidemien-pandemien/aktuelle-ausbrueche-epidemien/novel-cov.html#903671355

Hi Yenhan10,

I don't know exactly, but it's probably a matter of timing (how often they update), and also definition: tests are often carried out twice, so number X might be "tested positive on the first test, waiting for the second", while number Y might mean "tested positive on both tests".

I wouldn't worry too much about exact numbers. It does not really matter whether there are 50 or 150 confirmed patients. They are all put in quarantine. What matters most, I think, is whether there will be any restrictions on things you may want to do as a tourist. Apart from cancelled events with more than 1000 attendees, there are no such restrictions at the moment.

Please keep an eye on my original post for news and tips to avoid the virus: www.myswissalps.com/forum/topic/does-the-corona-virus-affect-trips-to-switzerland.

I have just checked the Johns Hopkins interactive map and see that Switzerland is now 10th in the world, with 119 confirmed, of which there has been 1 death, 3 recovered, and 115 active. This is as of 9:33 PM (Baltimore MD Time) on March 5, about 21 hours since it was at 90 confirmed. Cases in bordering countries are 3558 in Italy, 545 in Germany, 423 in France, 43 in Austria, and 1 in Liechtenstein. The one death in Switzerland occurred at the CHUV in Lausanne during the night of Wednesday to Thursday, and it was a 74 year old (some reports say 72) lady who (doctors suspect) may have picked up the virus in the north of Italy.

If anyone wants the most recent figures for just Switzerland, I would suggest that the Swiss FOPH would be the most up-to-date, and I assume that they, like analogous agencies in other countries, are the bodies that pass their data on to Johns Hopkins. On the FOPH site, you can click on a number of links, including "Current Situation in Switzerland" and "Current Situation - International". The "Worldometer" mentioned by Arno above is also interesting, and I too would not be concerned with small differences in the numbers being reported.

On the Johns Hopkins interactive site the number of confirmed cases in Switzerland has gone from 119 to 214, this in the last sixteen hours. The number of deaths (1) and recovered (3) has not changed.

In this same sixteen hours, confirmed cases in Italy have increased from 3558 to 4636, in Germany from 545 to 670, in France from 423 to 577, in Austria from 43 to 55, and Liechtenstein is still at 1.

In my last post I mistakenly attributed the Worldometer link to Arno instead of Yenhen10. My apologies.

I also notice that Iran has moved ahead of Italy for confirmed cases. This is no surprise as earlier on they were trying to downplay the seriousness of this crisis in Iran. Here is an article about Italy's decision to close all of its schools. www.vox.com/2020/3/4/21164938/coronavirus-italy-schools-closed

Hello Members,

First pray for all affected and to stop the further spreading.

I already planned my trip between April 10- 13, from Hamburg to Zurich by air then booked a house in Lauterbrunnen. I don’t think I can make it, because my 10years kid also travels with me. How is the current situation in Interlaken area ? Mountain trains/ cog wheels to Jungfrau peak and Zermatt? Hope to get some good news in coming weeks.

Thanks

Hello Annees84,

I agree, lets hope for the best for the affected and the future development of the situation.

Currently the destinations you're mentioning are still open and operative in general, whereas nobody knows how this will develop.

Keep an eye on the links posted in this thread for up to date information.

For general input on the destinations you mention see:
- www.myswissalps.com/zurich
- www.myswissalps.com/lauterbrunnen
- www.myswissalps.com/jungfraujoch
- www.myswissalps.com/zermatt

Fingers crossed that things develop in everybody's favour!

Best,
Steph

I travelled on the Bernina express yesterday all the way to Tirano and back. Some people got off at the last station in Switzerland and got back on for the return trip.

However there appears to be restrictions in place now.

www.rhb.ch/en/panoramic-trains/bernina-express

Hello Aprilhusband,

Thanks a lot for the update! We'll keep an eye on it as good as possible but are of course super happy about on the spot information from travellers!

Thanks again.

Steph