Germany declares Zug, Nidwalden, Uri and Schwyz to be risk areas

Germany added eight additional cantons to the risk list on Thursday, including four from central Switzerland. The new list will apply from Saturday.

Germany expanded its Corona risk list on Thursday. In addition to Zurich, Fribourg, Jura and Neuchatel, the cantons of Nidwalden, Schwyz, Uri and Zug are now on the list, which will apply from 17 October. Geneva and Vaud are already on the list, meaning there are now ten Swiss cantons on the risk list.

In addition to Switzerland, Germany has also declared the whole of the Netherlands, the whole of France and, for the first time, regions in Italy and Poland as Corona risk areas, with effect from Saturday.

Germany considers a country or region to be a risk area if there have been more than 50 newly infected people per 100,000 inhabitants in an area in the last seven days. So what does that mean? Anyone who enters Germany from one of the ten cantons must now go into a 14-day quarantine and inform the relevant health office. There is no travel ban, but tourists should be deterred as much as possible. Trips that have already been booked can be cancelled if the destination is in the risk area.

In addition, travellers from a high-risk area have had to show a negative Corona test since August. This test must not be older than 48 hours, or you can have yourself tested within ten days of your arrival. If the test is negative, the quarantine can be terminated. The quarantine rules in Germany are to be changed from 8 November, however. A ten-day rule will then apply, and it will not be possible to stop quarantine with a negative test until the fifth day.