Belgium takes cantons Valais and Vaud off its Covid risk list
The mountain resort of Zinal in Valais is particularly popular with Belgian tourists.
Keystone / Arno Balzarini
Switzerland says Belgium has pledged to remove two Swiss regions from its list of coronavirus risk countries following an intervention by the foreign ministry.
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Bélgica retira al Valais y a Vaud de lista de riesgo
Cantons Valais and Vaud will again be declared safe as of Wednesday, but canton Geneva will remain on the list, according to Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis.
He said he was relieved about the Belgian move and wished all Belgian tourists happy holidays in Switzerland. Valais and Vaud are particularly popular travel destinations.
The three regions were blacklisted on Saturday, prompting protests from the cantonal governments and calls for the Swiss foreign ministry to contact the Belgian authorities.
It is still not clear what criteria the Belgian government applied for its ban, but people were told they must not travel to the specified regions and those returning to Belgium must be tested for the virus and go into quarantine.
Last month the southern canton of Ticino was briefly put on a Belgian travel warning list.
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