‘We advise you not to travel’: Sweden retaliates against Switzerland’s quarantine order
Sweden has confirmed that a decision to recommend its citizens not to travel to Switzerland was made in retaliation after its citizens were required to quarantine on arriving in the Alpine country.
Sweden on July 15th advised its citizens against traveling to Switzerland. On the same day, similar warnings for France, Germany and Italy were removed.
A government representative confirmed on Wednesday to Swiss media that the move was a retaliation for Switzerland’s mandatory quarantine of arrivals from Sweden.
READ: Everything you need to know about Switzerland's quarantine requirement
On July 6th, Switzerland put in place a mandatory ten-day quarantine for all arrivals from Sweden, citing a high infection rate in the Nordic country.
According to current government advice, Sweden remains a ‘high risk’ country - although this may change when the Swiss government updates the list on Wednesday, July 22nd.
The infection rate in Sweden dropped to 57 per 100,000 residents this week, just under the Swiss government’s quarantine threshold of 60 per 100,000 people for a country to be classified as 'high risk'.
‘Restricting the freedom of Swedes to travel’
Julia Eriksson Pogorzelska, spokeswoman for the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told Swiss media outlet 20 Minutes that the decision was retaliatory and would stand until at least July 29th.
"Measures taken by individual countries will be included in the assessment, which will make entry more difficult or restrict the freedom of Swedish citizens to travel,” Pogorzelska said.
According to figures released by the news outlet, there were 183,045 overnight stays in Switzerland by Swedish travellers in 2019.
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Sweden on July 15th advised its citizens against traveling to Switzerland. On the same day, similar warnings for France, Germany and Italy were removed.
A government representative confirmed on Wednesday to Swiss media that the move was a retaliation for Switzerland’s mandatory quarantine of arrivals from Sweden.
READ: Everything you need to know about Switzerland's quarantine requirement
On July 6th, Switzerland put in place a mandatory ten-day quarantine for all arrivals from Sweden, citing a high infection rate in the Nordic country.
According to current government advice, Sweden remains a ‘high risk’ country - although this may change when the Swiss government updates the list on Wednesday, July 22nd.
The infection rate in Sweden dropped to 57 per 100,000 residents this week, just under the Swiss government’s quarantine threshold of 60 per 100,000 people for a country to be classified as 'high risk'.
‘Restricting the freedom of Swedes to travel’
Julia Eriksson Pogorzelska, spokeswoman for the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told Swiss media outlet 20 Minutes that the decision was retaliatory and would stand until at least July 29th.
"Measures taken by individual countries will be included in the assessment, which will make entry more difficult or restrict the freedom of Swedish citizens to travel,” Pogorzelska said.
According to figures released by the news outlet, there were 183,045 overnight stays in Switzerland by Swedish travellers in 2019.
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