Worldwide Travel Update
05/07/2020
Good News
Great news for Europe/Schengen countries - free travel is now possible within the European Union, EFTA countries, Switzerland and the UK.
And very welcome news for many countries outside of Europe: On 30th June the European Council agreed to lifting the travel restrictions for many “third countries”. You can view the current list here and this will be reviewed and updated every two weeks.
These countries, which include Australia, New Zealand, Canada and China can now enjoy travel to Europe and Schengen associated countries (Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway, Switzerland), without any need for quarantine.
Bad News
Many of our Clients have been eagerly awaiting this news for the United States of America – and we feel awful for you that the USA is not included on the list. The assessment of the USA’s epidemiological situation and containment measures have unfortunately not passed the Council’s criteria.
We are so sorry for our friends across the pond whose hopes of a walking holiday in the next few weeks have been dashed once again. All we can say is that we are waiting impatiently with you for things to improve and updates are promised at least every fortnight, so things may improve soon. We will continue to monitor the situation daily and update youas soon as there is a change .
Please get in touch with us if we haven’t reached out to you personally yet and let us know how we can help…
Here is a more detailed look at the new measures
Europe responded favourably to the EU Councils announcement on “third countries” and opened borders to all 15 approved countries. This freedom of travel is also likely to be expanded to a further 18 "safe" countries from July 20th.
France opened their borders on July 1st. Italy followed suit and Switzerland agreed but waited to open their borders until the 6th July.
The exception is the United Kingdom, who have opened their borders - but until July 10th visitors are required to quarantine for 14 days.
At the same time this good news was announced, it was recommended that Member States should not decide to lift the travel restrictions for non-listed third countries before this has been decided in a coordinated manner.
Therefore, it is simply not possible to enter in to Italy or France from “third countries” if you are not on the list of “safe” countries. Switzerland is slightly different, in that they are allowing travellers from "high risk" countries , so long as these travellers undergo a ten-day quarantine.
The full list, in alphabetical order, is: Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Bolivia, Brazil, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Iraq, Israel, Kosovo, Kuwait, Moldova, North Macedonia, Oman, Panama, Peru, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, South Africa, Sweden, the Turks and Caicos Islands and the United States.
The list of high-risk countries will be continuously updated by the Swiss health authorities, so is dependent on each country’s control of the virus.
**Please get in touch if you have any questions regarding trekking in the mountains. We will ensure that we keep you posted on what it's like over here and here are some updated resources to help you make informed decisions about future travel plans.
We recommend your own government’s travel advisory service information for your destination country:
UK, the FCO Travel Advice Department of Foreign Affairs State Department Travel Advisory Travel Advice & Advisories Smart Traveller Information ServiceSafeTravel .
Further details of our how we are protecting you and your booking see here: Coronavirus Client Protection
As ever, if you have any questions about your trip or our treks in general, we are here to help. Please give us a call or email us .
Warm regards
Jane at Mont Blanc Treks
UK: +44 (0)161 408 1222
