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READER QUESTION: What are the rules for children and minors entering Switzerland?

Do children need to be tested and vaccinated to enter Switzerland? Here’s what you need to know.

Published: 28 June 2021 17:36 CEST
READER QUESTION: What are the rules for children and minors entering Switzerland?
Can children enter Switzerland? What are the rules? Photo: INA FASSBENDER / AFP

From June 2021, Switzerland has relaxed its entry rules, allowing people from all over Europe and further afield to enter again – in some cases for the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic. 

Now, people who have been vaccinated in the past 12 months or who have recovered from the virus in the past six months will be allowed to enter. 

UPDATED: Who can travel to Switzerland right now?

However, one major question we have received from our readers has been the rules related to children, especially given that in some countries children cannot be vaccinated. 

Are children allowed to enter Switzerland? 

Put simply, whether children are able to enter or not will depend on the adult they are travelling with. 

Children under the age of 18 are allowed to travel to Switzerland, even if they have not been vaccinated and have not contracted the virus and recovered recently, provided they are travelling with an adult who complies with the entry rules.

In certain limited circumstances – such as where someone is entering from a variant of concern area but has not been vaccinated – the person arriving will need to be tested and quarantine. 

If the adult needs to be tested, the child will also need to be tested only if he or she is aged 16 or 17. Children aged under 16 do not need to be tested.  

Anyone wanting to enter Switzerland can use this official Swiss government tool to work out if they can – and what rules they must comply with. 

‘Travelcheck’: This tool shows you what you need to enter Switzerland

More information is available at the following official government page. 

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For members

COVID-19

What you need to know about the new Covid-19 wave in Switzerland

When the pandemic was winding down two years ago, health authorities warned that while the worst was over, Covid will keep re-emerging, in one form or another, in the future.

Published: 19 July 2024 11:45 CEST
What you need to know about the new Covid-19 wave in Switzerland

In Switzerland, the number of laboratory-confirmed coronavirus cases has increased by around 50 percent over the last four weeks, according to the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH).  

Add to it the undeclared cases, and that figure is even higher.

“The number of positive tests is climbing, and further increases cannot be ruled out,” FOPH said.

Overall, however, the number of infections remains low.

Why is Covid still around in Switzerland?

As epidemiologists predicted, coronavirus will keep mutating, with different strains emerging over time.

Covid’s new variants, KP.2 and KP.3, are currently circulating throughout the country, causing the number of cases to go up.

That’s because the latest variants spread fast and are particularly resistant to antibodies — which means that whatever immunity you may have built up through previous infections or vaccinations are not sufficient to stop new infections.

What are the symptoms?

The most common ones are similar to those of seasonal flu — that is, cough, fever, headache, muscle pain, cold, sore throat, as well as tiredness.

But just as with the previous bouts, some people will experience milder symptoms, while others more severe ones.

For the time being, these variants have not caused serious developments in most people, and only a small number have required hospitalisation.

What should you do if symptoms appear?

If you do become infected, FOPH recommends avoiding contact with other people, especially those who are particularly at risk of complications.

Measures imposed by the government during earlier outbreaks, such as isolation and quarantine, are not necessary at this point — though health authorities say that, similarly to to previous bouts, you should wear a mask and keep your distance.

And if you are in a high-risk group, contact your doctor immediately.

Should you get (re)vaccinated?

Ask your doctor about that.

Compulsory basic insurance will pay for the vaccine for high-risk people, and possibly their carertakers, based on doctor’s recommendations.

Others must pay for the shot out of their pockets. A dose costs around 100 francs.

Should you cancel your vacation if you test positive?

It is up to you and your own sense of responsibility.

“It would be best to cancel the flight immediately,” said Christiane Meier, vice-president of the Association of Cantonal Doctors. If you decide to go anyway, “wear a mask and keep your distance,” she added.
 
Should we expect a further increase in the number of cases after the holidays?

According to FOPH, it is not yet possible to know for sure, though this possibility can’t be excluded.

Swiss health authorities are constantly monitoring the evolution, but are not making any predictions for the moment.

What they do say is that though new variants spread fast and resist immunity, “there is no reason to panic at this stage.”

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