(CNN) – British tourists have fled under the darkness “clandestine” from the Swiss ski resort of Verbier rather than subjecting themselves to a new quarantine imposed on British visitors, a local official said on Monday.
On 21 December, the Swiss Federal Council imposed a 10-day curfew on all travelers from the United Kingdom and South Africa – which has discovered another new variant – which means that anyone from the two countries entered Switzerland. 14 is required to be quarantined.
“Some British tourists left immediately, while others decided to stay a little longer. Some of them fled clandestine during the night,” Jean-Marc Sandoz, spokesman for the city of Bagnes, about 20 minutes from Verbier, told CNN said.
“They left … as soon as they found a way back to their homes,” he added, noting that the exact number of tourists leaving the resort had not been confirmed.
According to Sandoz, 370 holidaymakers in the UK have been booked to comply with the ten-day quarantine order.
“Some of them had to leave for France because planes were suspended for the UK in Switzerland,” Sandoz said.
“You can not blame them. In most cases, the quarantine was unbearable. Imagine you were staying with four people in a 20-square-meter hotel room, and they had to pay to stay in a Swiss ski resort. , “he added.
According to the head of the Verbier tourism office, Simon Wiget, British tourists usually make up 21% of holidaymakers staying in the resort.
While scientists are looking for more information on the variant discovered in the UK, its impact is already being felt.
Authorities tightened pandemic restrictions in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland during the festive season.
New cases of the variant have been detected worldwide in countries such as Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Ireland, Jordan, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, South Korea, Spain and Sweden.