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EU agrees to recognise Switzerland’s vaccination certificate

The European Union and Switzerland will recognise each other's Covid vaccination certificates from Friday, July 9th, the European Commission announced on Thursday.

EU agrees to recognise Switzerland's vaccination certificate
Photo: OLIVIER MORIN / AFP

This month, 27 EU member states along with Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein adopted common standards to read digital coronavirus certificates.

Proof of vaccination or acquired immunity via a recognised certificate can help travellers avoid restrictions like quarantine on arrival.

But member states remain in charge of their own border rules, and reserve the right to impose emergency controls if the epidemic situation deteriorates.

“I warmly welcome that the Swiss authorities have decided to implement a system based on the EU Digital COVID Certificate,” EU justice commissioner Didier Reynders said.

“As a result, the certificate will not only facilitate free movement within the EU, but also between the EU and Switzerland. “This will allow EU citizens and Swiss nationals to travel safely and more freely this summer.”

The EU document — essentially a QR code available on smartphones or paper — shows whether the bearer is vaccinated, recovered from an infection or recently tested negative.

The EU is in talks with several countries from outside the EU and the EAA economic area, including Britain and Russia, about recognising each other’s certificates.

What is the Covid immunity pass?

This passport, in the form of a QR code on a smartphone or printed out on a piece of paper, must be presented by each traveler at the border.

It includes identification data and information relating to vaccination (type of vaccine, number of doses received), screening (date of test, negative or positive result), and even serological analysis, namely if the traveler had Covid and has antibodies.

READ MORE: How to get Switzerland’s Covid-19 health pass

Switzerland’s Covid-19 immunity certificate has been available since June 7th – and now has a linked app which makes the digitalisation process easier. 

Both apps are available for free. Here is the link for the Apple App store here, and that for Android.  

Switzerland’s Covid-19 certificate app up close. Image: FOPH

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Slides and climbing frames: How Swiss trains entertain children

Occupying young children on trains is not always easy. Questions like ‘are we there yet?’ abound, and even a brief journey can seem long for children and parents alike. But when it comes to kid-friendliness, Swiss trains are on the right track.

Slides and climbing frames: How Swiss trains entertain children

Youngsters and long train rides don’t exactly go well together.

Very young children often become bored and cranky. Sitting and being quiet for hours is not in their nature, and telling them, ‘sweetie, look out the window at beautiful scenery’ will likely not work.

But Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) has found a solution to how to keep children entertained and parents (somewhat) sane.

All long-distance InterCity double-decker trains have a ‘family coach’ which looks like a small version of a playground, equipped with slides, climbing sets and other games.

Trains with family coaches run mainly on the following InterCity routes:

·    IC1: St. Gallen–Zurich HB–Bern–Geneva Airport
·    IC8: Romanshorn–Zurich HB–Bern–Brig
·    IC6: Basel SBB–Bern–Brig
·    IC61: Basel SBB–Bern–Interlaken Ost
·    IC3: Basel SBB–Zurich HB–Chur 

“The play area is located on the upper deck of the coach and can be recognised from a distance thanks to its jungle and dragon-themed motifs,” according to SBB. “The lower floor has spaces for stowing pushchairs. The doors are at least 71 cm wide.”

To access the area, all you need is a regular train ticket; no extra charge is required to use the playroom.

If you are still unsure which trains provide this service, they are marked in the online timetable and the SBB Mobile app with ‘FA’.

READ ALSO: Five things you didn’t know about Switzerland’s rail network 

What about older kids?

If your child is too old to be excited by a slide, you need more sophisticated entertainment.

The SBB has that as well: family zone.

“Some tables are covered with board games. We recommend you use coins as game pieces and visit one of the many dice apps for smartphones in the various app stores for the dice,” SBB says. 

You can find these zones on InterCity trains marked with ‘FZ’ in the online timetable and the SBB Mobile app.

Psst! Be quiet!

Now, if you want some peace and quiet on your train journey, the obvious advice is to sit as far away as possible from FAs and FZs.

Fortunately, SBB trains have just the ticket: ‘quiet zones’ where no cell phones or loud conversations are allowed. InterCity trains with quiet zones are marked with RZ in the online timetable and in the SBB Mobile app.

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