Twelve British tourists are being investigated by Swiss police for allegedly escaping a hastily-imposed Covid quarantine.
The skiers were among hundreds of Britons on holiday in the luxury Alpine resort of Verbier when the Swiss government suddenly announced a retroactive 10-day quarantine.
It was reported that many fled the resort, in the canton of Valais, rather than going into lockdown. Hoteliers said some guests left with no warning under cover of darkness.
Among the Britons who fled was top Brexiteer Andy Wigmore, a spokesman for Leave.EU campaign co-founder Arron Banks.
He was holidaying at the Wengen ski resort when he received a message from Swiss authorities informing him of the mandatory quarantine coming into effect on December 22.
Swiss continue search for absconded British tourists
Skiing for one in Davos Keystone / Gian Ehrenzeller
Swiss cantons are still trying to identify tourists from the UK and South Africa who are staying in their resorts or who fled to escape Covid quarantine. Canton Valais, home to many popular ski resorts such as Verbier and Zermatt, is struggling.
This content was published on December 30, 2020 - 14:03
December 30, 2020 - 14:03
Keystone-SDA/ts
At the weekend an estimated 200 British tourists crept out of Verbier during the night, with hotel owners only realising what was going on when they saw breakfast trays outside room doors. The tourists face fines of up to CHF10,000 ($11,280).