WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH COVID IN SWITZERLAND?

The pandemic has been changing a lot over the last 12 months, and we wanted to update our trainees with the situation here as well as what it means for our courses this coming season.

Of course, nobody can be too sure that we are out of the pandemic – after all it seems that we are only a mutation away from closures and quarantine returning.

But the good news is that, whilst that’s still possible, the experts here are not concerned about this happening and are generally really positive.

WHAT ARE THE RESTRICTIONS?

Right now there are no remaining Covid restrictions in Switzerland.

Although some nations are still maintaining certain precautions – for example masks on US flights, some nations are still locking down cases – in Switzerland it seems like normal – well the new normal.

The Swiss are still closely watching cases and hospitalisations, but for now – and we hope from now on – there are no restrictions and all the shops, bars and restaurants are operating as they did pre-covid.

Like many nations, we are in this strange situation that you can get a Covid test, then test positive, but not actually need to do anything.

There is a recommendation to isolate and not risk spreading the virus, but it is no longer legally required.

As a result, this season (inline with the advice here) we were asking trainees to isolate and simply pause training until symptoms have stopped.

WHAT ABOUT POSITIVE CASES?

The Swiss are still tracking the cases and hospitalisations from Covid.

And, as you might have seen elsewhere, the case rates have been rising from time to time.

But the hospitalisations are not following the same curve at all.

So, whilst the new relaxed approach from the majority of society must be making transmission easier, the high vaccination rates here and the relatively benign effects of the virus mean that the number of people seriously ill is thankfully very, very low.

In addition the outdoor lifestyle here in summer has once again proved a significant factor in reducing transmissions.

SO WHAT WILL OUR COURSES LOOK LIKE IN 2022-2023?

Well, nobody wants to tempt fate, but we are really, really optimistic about how things will go.

The Swiss have a great record of balancing the risks of the pandemic – even when things were at their worst.

In fact, the excellent response to Covid from the ski industry is also a big reason to be optimistic – remember Switzerland was the only European nation to open ski resorts during the pandemic, with specific and efficient safety rules in place that allowed skiing to continue.

So this could well be it, we could be back to normal and – apart from always being safety conscious and staying vigilant – we think that the coming season will be as relaxed and normal as it should be.

And we’re already seeing a lot of trainee share that optimism, with bookings for our Saas Fee and Verbier courses already well under way. You can read a bit more about them by clicking the links below…