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UPDATE: Will France be placed on Switzerland’s coronavirus quarantine list?

The Local
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UPDATE: Will France be placed on Switzerland’s coronavirus quarantine list?
A barrier is removed at a border crossing between France and Switzerland. Photo: FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP

Amid rising infections, France has been the latest country to cross Switzerland’s coronavirus quarantine threshold. Swiss authorities are meeting to discuss placing its western neighbour on the quarantine list.

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Infection rates in France are now higher than 60 per 100,000 inhabitants over the past 14 days, exceeding the threshold for the Swiss government to deem it a ‘high risk’ country. 

Swiss media reports that the Federal Council will meet to decide on whether France should be placed on the mandatory ten-day quarantine list. 

As reported by The Local Switzerland on Friday, placing France on the list is problematic due to the close economic and social ties between the countries. 

An estimated 180,000 residents of France cross the border daily into Switzerland to work, with the majority working in Geneva, Vaud and Basel City. 

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The government has not yet indicated whether it would require cross-border workers to quarantine, however special concessions have been made for cross-border workers since the start of the pandemic

Tens of thousands of Swiss also cross the border into France to go shopping, with a quarantine meaning that anyone who entered France - even if just for the purposes of shopping - would be required to quarantine for ten days upon their return. 

UPDATED: Everything you need to know about Switzerland's new quarantine requirement 

A representative of the Department of Economic, Social and Environmental Affairs told Swiss media outlet 20 Minutes that “shopping in France would not be possible” if a quarantine came into place. 

Other countries including the Netherlands, Libya, Lebanon and Paraguay are also approaching Switzerland’s quarantine threshold. 

While the government said the list would be updated monthly when it was first implemented, however so far updates have been made immediately as a country crosses the threshold. 

As of August 25th, there are more than 50 countries with an infection rate above Switzerland’s threshold of ‘high risk’. 

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