Swiss newspaper writes how Kosova dealt with Switzerland

The crowd was greater than ever. One fully packed plane landed in Pristina at the beginning of the summer and brought Kosovars, scattered worldwide, to their homeland. If you need a cab, sometimes you have to wait over 40 minutes.

In July alone, 446,340 passengers arrived in Pristina, as the airport on Facebook proudly announced. A year ago, it was only 88,607 because of coronary restrictions, and in 2019, in the last normal year, 280113. In addition, several hundred thousand people traveled to Kosovo by bus or by private cars. So begins SonntagsZeiung's writing.

No Measures

In Pristina and other cities, there was an atmosphere like in Mallorca. Discotecs, clubs, and restaurants were packed until the early hours of the morning. There were no precautions, hardly anyone wearing a mask. The Kosovo government had also lifted all restrictions for private holidays before summer holidays.

Many Kosovars from the diaspora have not seen their relatives for two years”, says microbiologist Fatime Imer, director of Labormeinschaft 1, a medical diagnostic laboratory in the town of Zurich. She too, who briefs Corona's situation on the Albinfo.ch platform, traveled to Kosovo for two weeks this summer and was surprised by the crowds.

For the small Balkan state, visitors from the diaspora are vital. According to the Germin NGO, they spent about 500m euros this summer. Weddings that many exiled Kosovars and their descendants traditionally celebrate in their homeland are especially significant. Over 200 guests have often been invited.

New Cases Blow Up 

But Kosovo also becomes an ideal breeding ground for the Delta version. Especially since no one in Kosovo was vaccinated until that time. Neither did the locals, most of whom had not yet had the opportunity to do so, nor the diaspora that had travelled there, who had only few used the vaccine offer in Switzerland, writes SonntagsZeitung, broadcast Express.

If you compare daily cases in Switzerland and Kosovo with the number of residents, it becomes clear how the virus has spread in both countries.

By July 20th, there were very few new cases in Kosovo with Covid-19. Only after the arrival of many guests from the rgata did the numbers explode. Until now, the country has not been able to slow down the exponential growth of cases. In Switzerland, the number of cases increased only at the end of the holidays.

20 hours without a mask on a bus full of people 

The virus had reached the Balkans through travelers, where it spread and then returned with great intensity. In Swiss hospitals, travelers from the Balkans currently make up a significant part of the coronary patients, as the federal processing group of Coronobrus explained on Tuesday.

Simple measures such as early tests before weddings could have prevented the spread, says Imer. But after it already happened, you're always smarter”. From the Swiss perspective, it is especially surprising that local authorities took no precautions, though warnings were given in many countries about the problem of returnees.

Hundreds of crowded buses arrived in Switzerland late on vacation, and hardly any passenger wore a mask during the 20-hour trip. A testing certificate in general was not required by travelers. With rapid tests at bus stations, positives could have been identified and sent immediately to quarantine. However, they continued to spread the virus to Switzerland, especially in schools, which are now struggling with a large number of cases.

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Many infected people have also likely entered Switzerland without being spotted by airplane. “You can buy false test certificates PCR at every corner around the airport”, a Kosovo traveler says.

In Kosovo, the number of cases has increased in about 2000 a day, while hospital stays and deaths have increased due to low levels of vaccine. The health care system is reaching its borders, and the situation is dramatic.