Coronavirus Restrictions in Switzerland and Netherlands

[BAYA]

On 1/26/2022 at 9:21 PM, sfocruiser said:

 

i used my cdc card which worked.  My card has the vaccine, date and administering entity (Hospital) no stamp or signature 

Same here. I got the certificate super fast, less than a week.

[Turtles06]

Looks like major good news just announced by the Netherlands:

 

QR code for vaccinated visitors outside the EU

At the central stations of Amsterdam, The Hague, Utrecht and Rotterdam, there will be counters where fully vaccinated visitors from outside the European Union can obtain a corona ticket. This concerns, for example, tourists, business travelers and cabin crew of aviation organizations, who have been vaccinated in their own country but are not connected to the European corona passport. They will soon be able to create a QR code for a short stay, which is valid for a maximum of two weeks.

This allows them to use facilities in the Netherlands where a corona ticket is required, such as catering and events. Until now, visitors from outside the EU could only go there once and with a recent negative test result, even if they had been fully vaccinated.

The cabinet expects that around 2000 to 2500 people will use the temporary corona admission ticket every day. It is not known exactly when the counters will open.

 

https://nos.nl/liveblog/2414792-ondernemers-krijgen-meer-tijd-om-belasting-te-betalen-onderzoek-naar-luchtzuivering-in-500-klassen

[sojourner46]

If you are on the Viking Rhine cruise, the you can apply for the Swiss covid certificate even if you aren't staying overnight at a hotel.  The Viking document "Important information about your cruise"  tells you how to fill out the Location, Address and Postcode in the application.

[notamermaid]

A bit of info about the situation in Switzerland right now: https://lenews.ch/2022/01/28/covid-cases-continue-to-rise-this-week-in-switzerland-but-hospitals-stable/

 

The Omicron wave has not peaked yet in Switzerland.

 

notamermaid

 

[BAYA]

Sorry for this off-topic question but we have so many helpful travelers on this thread, I'll ask here first. I just learned that KLM cancelled my original connecting flight from Amsterdam to Zurich and rebooked me on a later flight. I now have a 4.5 hours layover at Schiphol airport. Is it worthwhile to buy a pass to use the "KLM Crown Lounge 25"? The pass costs about $41 if purchased in advance. I've never had access to an airline lounge before.

[sfocruiser]

On 1/29/2022 at 6:08 AM, BAYA said:

Sorry for this off-topic question but we have so many helpful travelers on this thread, I'll ask here first. I just learned that KLM cancelled my original connecting flight from Amsterdam to Zurich and rebooked me on a later flight. I now have a 4.5 hours layover at Schiphol airport. Is it worthwhile to buy a pass to use the "KLM Crown Lounge 25"? The pass costs about $41 if purchased in advance. I've never had access to an airline lounge before.

 

The KLM lounges at Schiphol airport are the the airline's flagship lounges and are quite nice.   There is complimentary food and drink and showers (which is nice after along flight).

 

 

Whether its worth it is a  personal choice.

 

https://lounge.klm.com/client/lounge25/home

 

Edited January 30, 2022 by sfocruiser

[Host Jazzbeau]

There is also a small branch of the Rijksmuseum in the Schiphol Airport:

https://www.amsterdam.info/airport-museum/

 

[BAYA]

22 hours ago, sfocruiser said:

 

The KLM lounges at Schiphol airport are the the airline's flagship lounges and are quite nice.   There is complimentary food and drink and showers (which is nice after along flight).

Thanks for the response. My friend and I both booked it!

However, I am having second thoughts due to this which I just now saw on their web site:

The KLM Schengen Crown Lounge is temporarily closed.

You are welcome in our Non-Schengen Crown Lounge. This lounge opens daily from 07:00 AM to 09:00 PM and can be found between the E and F piers. If you have lounge access included in your ticket, access is complimentary. Our catering facilities have been adjusted to ensure your safety. The Blue bar and restaurant remains closed due to COVID-19 restrictions.

To enter the Non-Schengen area at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, just show your travel documents at the security controls. Please take some extra walking time into account between the Non-Schengen Crown Lounge and your gate.

Our apologies for the inconvenience and we hope you’ll still enjoy your stay at the lounge. If you have any questions regarding the current situation, reach out to our Personal Lounge Assistants. They’re here to help you as best they can.

Edited January 31, 2022 by BAYA
additional info

[sfocruiser]

49 minutes ago, BAYA said:

Thanks for the response. My friend and I both booked it!

However, I am having second thoughts due to this which I just now saw on their web site:

The KLM Schengen Crown Lounge is temporarily closed.

You are welcome in our Non-Schengen Crown Lounge. This lounge opens daily from 07:00 AM to 09:00 PM and can be found between the E and F piers. If you have lounge access included in your ticket, access is complimentary. Our catering facilities have been adjusted to ensure your safety. The Blue bar and restaurant remains closed due to COVID-19 restrictions.

To enter the Non-Schengen area at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, just show your travel documents at the security controls. Please take some extra walking time into account between the Non-Schengen Crown Lounge and your gate.

Our apologies for the inconvenience and we hope you’ll still enjoy your stay at the lounge. If you have any questions regarding the current situation, reach out to our Personal Lounge Assistants. They’re here to help you as best they can.

 

For me that would be a bit more dicey as you would have to leave time to go through immigration before heading to your gate.  

 

I would keep monitoring the lounge status and the Netherlands is starting to open up and they may reopen the lounge.  

[notamermaid]

Switzerland is reducing restrictions. So what is happening and what could be next steps? Here is an article: https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss-ease-covid-19-curbs-and-plan-gradual-phase-out/47313964?utm_campaign=teaser-in-channel&utm_content=o&utm_source=swissinfoch&utm_medium=display

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

Edited February 6, 2022 by notamermaid

[MamaFej]

Thank you. The last sentence truly sums it up.

[notamermaid]

Let us turn to the Netherlands again. Good news. In an article on DutchNews it says that now fewer than 200 people are in ICUs. This one says the government is planning to scrap rules on 25 February: https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2022/02/dutch-government-planning-to-scrap-coronavirus-rules-on-february-25/

 

Let us hope this will come about. And that life will be more pleasant for locals and the first river cruising tourists in March.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

And back to Switzerland with a hooray! Big day today: https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/covid-19_coronavirus--the-situation-in-switzerland/45592192?utm_campaign=teaser-in-channel&utm_source=swissinfoch&utm_content=o&utm_medium=display

 

🥳🍾👏

notamermaid

 

[BAYA]

Thanks for the link. I read the article and then went to the Swiss gov site mentioned in the article and entered into a frustrating circle of links from gov page to gov page. So far it appears to me that the bottom line is to get into Switzerland from the US I should be fully vaccinated but do not need a negative covid test prior to arriving at the Zurich airport. My next step is to verify whether I do or do not need a negative covid test to get on my flight to CH via Amsterdam from the US. I'm flying Delta/KLM but the airline shouldn't make a difference.

 

[sfocruiser]

4 hours ago, BAYA said:

Thanks for the link. I read the article and then went to the Swiss gov site mentioned in the article and entered into a frustrating circle of links from gov page to gov page. So far it appears to me that the bottom line is to get into Switzerland from the US I should be fully vaccinated but do not need a negative covid test prior to arriving at the Zurich airport. My next step is to verify whether I do or do not need a negative covid test to get on my flight to CH via Amsterdam from the US. I'm flying Delta/KLM but the airline shouldn't make a difference.

 

 

try this site it’s up to date has links to the sources (gov’s sites) and you can add connecting airports to figure out your end to end requirements

 

https://apply.joinsherpa.com/travel-restrictions

 

 

 

 

[BAYA]

Thanks @sfocruiser. My TA sent me that link too. Thank goodness I am a retired software engineer. Sorry for the poor folks who get frustrated on the internet.

[sfocruiser]

20 minutes ago, BAYA said:

Thanks @sfocruiser. My TA sent me that link too. Thank goodness I am a retired software engineer. Sorry for the poor folks who get frustrated on the internet.

 

LOL  I am in the same industry but not retired yet.   For me the interface makes sense but for someone who doesn't travel often or have  background in IT it is daunting and not very intuitive

[Canal archive]

Makes me laugh all the youngsters trying to imply that we don’t know what we’re doing, hello! what age group invented the internet, the World Wide Web, you name it we did it, oh maybe I’m a bit older than most but I’m so proud of the ingenuity of our predecessors and hopeful of those who follow.

[Gopherpharm]

On 12/12/2021 at 11:26 AM, Psoque said:

You might want to wait until next year to see what is going on then.  But if you want, you could obtain the QR code (which works for all EU/Schengen/NFTA countries) specifically from Switzterland (since it is most likely impossible to get it from Netherlands unless you get tested every 24 hours there, and I think Germany is only giving out the limited time QR codes, not the real one).  When I applied for it in October, it was free.  I just had to e-mail one of the Swiss Canton health departments (for us, we dealt with the Canton of Basel-Stadt) with scans of your passport face pages and the scans of your vaccination certificates.  It was free when we got this, but I heard some Cantons (not sure which ones, if not all?) are charging a small fee.  It is my understanding that these "real" QR codes are good for one year starting the date of your most recent vaccination.  So this also depends on when your most recent vaccination.  If your most recent vaccination was before April 3, 2021 (and if you haven't gotten the booster yet), you may want to get your booster then apply for the QR code.

Thanks, we ended up paying for Swiss Covid certificates. It feels easier to have a QR code to use anywhere they will accept it!

[Shmoo here]

On 2/21/2022 at 1:39 PM, BAYA said:

I'm flying Delta/KLM but the airline shouldn't make a difference.

I was on the KLM site today (upcoming flight), and, from what I read, you have to wear a mask while onboard the plane.  And YOU HAVE TO CHANGE IT EVERY 3 HOURS.  That seems a bit excessive to me.

[BAYA]

10 hours ago, Shmoo here said:

I was on the KLM site today (upcoming flight), and, from what I read, you have to wear a mask while onboard the plane.  And YOU HAVE TO CHANGE IT EVERY 3 HOURS.  That seems a bit excessive to me.

I hope we can wear our cloth masks because I have some comfortable ones for long wear time. I wonder if they wake you up to change your mask at the 3 hour point? I'm on an overnight flight.

[MamaFej]

On 8 hour flights between LAX and Papeete, Tahiti, we were provided with a mask to change into. The wrapper was labelled that we should change masks at four hours, and an announcement to that effect was made at the beginning of the flight, but flight attendants did not come around to make sure we had changed. 

 

I was allowed to wear the surgical mask over my very comfortable cloth mask. I make my fitted cloth masks with outer layers of high-quality quilter's cotton fabric, and inner layers of polypropylene (the stuff surgical masks are made from), so they might be as or more effective than surgical masks, but I completely understood why Air France required the surgical one. They certainly do not have the time to evaluate every mask individually. 

[sfocruiser]

14 hours ago, Shmoo here said:

I was on the KLM site today (upcoming flight), and, from what I read, you have to wear a mask while onboard the plane.  And YOU HAVE TO CHANGE IT EVERY 3 HOURS.  That seems a bit excessive to me.

 

We flew KLM a few months ago with the same requirement and at least on our flight was not enforced.

[Shmoo here]

OK, on to another question -

 

It appears we're actually going to be able to take our tulips cruise that was originally scheduled for March 2020.  

 

In looking at the Netherlands website regarding what we have to do to actually enter the Netherlands, it says that we "can show a valid, paper vaccination certificate" 

Does the COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card I received, issued from the CDC work?  Or do I need something else?

 

 

 

[Gopherpharm]

Yes, it is my understanding that your vaccine card is valid. It must be the original and not a copy.