Belgium adds, then removes, Ticino from travel warning list
Workers in restaurants and bars are obliged to wear masks in Ticino from next week.
Keystone / Pablo Gianinazzi
Ticino was briefly added to a Belgian “orange” travel warning list, which urged arrivals to quarantine and take a Covid-19 test if they had been in the southern Swiss canton. An intervention by the Swiss foreign ministry then saw Ticino struck off the list on Thursday.
This content was published on
2 minutes
swissinfo.ch/mga
The foreign ministry said it was “satisfied” that Ticino had been removed from the list. Diplomats intervened following objections from the Ticino government and health authorities.
In common with many countries, including Switzerland, Belgium monitors the Covid-19 threat from other countries and applies restrictions on places deemed to be a high risk. There was no explanation of why Ticino was temporarily listed as orange, signifying a medium threat of infection.
Ticino, which borders Italy, was one of the worst hit cantons during the pandemic, but other cantons have recorded higher infection numbers. Switzerland as a whole has registered more than 33,000 confirmed cases and nearly 1,700 deaths and has experienced a rise in cases since the end of a lockdown period.
The country has ordered extra measures to counter a second wave of the pandemic, including compulsory face masks on public transport. Several cantons have added their own measures, including Ticino which included tight restrictions on the number of people who can gather together in public places.
Ticino has also ordered restaurant and bar staff to wear face masks from Monday having only recommended the protective gear up until now.
Popular Stories
More
Identities
Switzerland’s most renowned trans person no longer wants to be a woman
Report finds serious security flaws in Swiss hospital information systems
This content was published on
The IT systems of several Swiss hospitals suffer from serious security flaws, according to the National Testing Institute for Cybersecurity (NTC).
Cost of leisure activities rises dramatically in Switzerland
This content was published on
The Swiss paid more for leisure activities in December. Prices for vacation apartments, package tours and cable cars rose significantly.
New Swiss epidemic surveillance centre inaugurated
This content was published on
The Centre for Pathogen Bioinformatics was inaugurated in Bern on Thursday. It aims to improve epidemics monitoring in Switzerland using genomic data.
This content was published on
Switzerland, as a member of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), signed a free trade agreement with Thailand during WEF.
This content was published on
The federal audit office has criticised the Swiss government for poor planning of the procurement of six drones from an Israeli supplier.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Switzerland publishes list of ‘high risk’ travel quarantine countries
This content was published on
The Federal Office of Public Health published the listExternal link on Thursday as part of new measures taken by the Swiss authorities to prevent a second wave of the pandemic. After flattening the peak in March, infection rates have been creeping up over the past two weeks, sometimes rising to above 100 on certain days.…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.