Only about 12 Britons stay in quarantine in Swiss ski resort after hundreds flee

Hundreds left Verbier after discovery of new Covid variant despite order to self-isolate

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Only about a dozen British tourists out of about 420 appear to be left in the Swiss ski resort of Verbier after an undisclosed number fled a mandatory quarantine, many under cover of darkness, risking a 10,000 Swiss franc fine (8,300) and drawing widespread condemnation on social media.

Asked about the runaway tourists, the Swiss health minister, Alain Berset, said: We are aware of that. It's obviously a problem. There was an order to quarantine that has not been respected."