ZURICH, November 27 (Reuters) – Switzerland increased quarantine requirements on Saturday to curb the spread of the new Omicron coronavirus variant to travelers from Great Britain, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Egypt and Malawi, where cases have been discovered so called the Ministry of Health.

On Friday, Switzerland banned direct flights from South Africa and the surrounding region due to the discovery of a new variant of COVID-19 and at the same time imposed travel restrictions from other countries such as Hong Kong, Israel and Belgium.

Entry from these countries would only be possible for Swiss citizens or persons with a residence permit in Switzerland or in the extended Schengen area.

After the discovery of new Omicron cases, travelers from the UK, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Egypt and Malawi must now also submit a negative COVID-19 test and a ten-day quarantine, the Federal Office of Public Health said in a tweet.

It was not specified whether or not travel from these countries would be limited to Swiss citizens and residents.

Two cases of the new Coronavirus variant Omicron were also detected in the southern German state of Bavaria and in Itlay, the two neighboring countries of Switzerland. Continue reading

Reporting by Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi Editing by Nick Zieminski

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