Valais Canton in Switzerland Introduces New Covid-19 Rules

5th November 2020

Last modified on May 13th, 2021

Cafes, restaurants, pubs and bars are to close in the Valais.

Up until now they had been allowed to be open until 10pm.

The restrictions come into force on Friday 6th November and will last until at least November 30th.

The Valais has some of the major Swiss resorts including Zermatt, Saas-Fee, Crans-Montana and Verbier.

The restrictions come on top of new measures announced on October 22nd which saw the closing of all entertainment and leisure venues – cinemas, theatres, gyms, swimming pools and sport facilities.

“Valais is one of the cantons with the most new cases in proportion to its population,” said the head of the canton’s health department, Esther Waeber-Kalbermatten.

Switzerland has the highest rate of cases of any alpine nation with 642 cases per 100,000 of population over a 7-day period.

France is at 435, Austria 360 and Italy 323.

It is seeing 10,000+ cases per day and overall it has had 202,504 recorded cases with 2,580 deaths.

Cases have been surging in Switzerland in recent weeks as we reported earlier, Sharp spike in Covid-19 cases in Switzerland

Ski resorts remain open, but some observers believe it is only a matter of time before they are shut.

Austria, France and Italy have all closed their ski resorts with some exceptions for professional skiers and racers.

Verbier opens as Covid-19 surges in Switzerland

Zermatt, Saas-Fee, Engelberg, St Moritz, Verbier, Glacier 3000, Andermatt and a handful of others currently have some slopes open for parts, or all, of the week.

The authorities in Geneva and several Swiss cantons have already implemented similar measures to the Valais.

From last Monday Geneva shut all bars, restaurants and non-essential shops and people are being asked to leave their homes only if strictly necessary.

There are also new measures in Jura, Neuchâtel, Obwalden and Lucerne.