Booking pre-departure PCR’s in resort

[ILOVEALLCAKES]

Hi, we are due to fly home from Geneva on 26th Dec so need a pre departure PCR 48hrs before flight. Struggling to find anywhere open in Morzine on Xmas eve/Xmas day. Any help & advice would be appreciated.

Are you there already or still in the UK?
If still here then could you take the PCR test with you?

I don’t know anything about the Swiss rules but if it is just the predepartute test for the UK then it can be antigen and you can order that here now and take with you, eg the randox ones you can do in your accommodation and get the certificate via their app

Thanks both for your replies. We are still in the UK, but Switzerland require a PCR to fly home. As we’ll be leaving France and there’s the possibility we’ll need to prove negative status to be allowed across the border into Switzerland hence needing PCR.
Im under the impression that you cannot take a PCR with you as who will test it??

Sorry getting mixed up between PCR and LFT

It might be a good idea to look at the expat website forums for Switzerland and post your question on:

www.englishforum.ch

Many expats live in France and work in Switzerland and of course plenty of them ski in France, Switzerland and (from Zermatt) over the border into Italy. Someone is bound to know the answer.

My spouse and son were supposed to be flying with Easyjet from Bournemouth to Geneva on 7th Jan, but the flight has been cancelled and they have to fly the day before....hotels are pricey there....but they are fairly circumspect about the likelihood of further flight changes/cancellations.

Good Luck!

@ILOVEALLCAKES

planetski.eu/2021/11/30/transit-travel-through-switzerland-is-possible/

It seems that you can get a rapid Covid PCR test at Geneva airport, but you must make a prior booking online. Open 7 days a week:

www.gva.ch/en/Site/Passagers/Preparation-voyage/News/2024-2020/Ouverture-d’un-centre-de-test-COVID-19-a-Geneve-Ae

Hope this helps!

@Pinotpleasure

Thanks for those useful links. Unfortunately the airport says they cannot do rapid PCR. The results take 24-36 hrs ;

m3 SANITRADE’s offer includes the rapid antigen test. Performed on site, it allows you to get a result in fifteen minutes. The centre also offers the PCR test. Carried out in partnership with a Geneva laboratory, the result of this test is obtained within 24 to 36 hours. In the event of a negative test, passengers are issued with a travel certificate.

@ILOVEALLCAKES

I looked at the official Zermatt website for Covid PCR tests and it says that it can take up to 48 hours to get the results.

www.zermatt.ch/en/covid-19/Offene-Betriebe-Geschlossene-Betriebe/COVID-19-tests

It does seem (in Switzerland) that one can only get a quick result with the antigen tests, but not with the PCR tests. My spouse is currently in Montreal and last week he went to a Boots pharmacy (25 miles away!) for a supervised PCR test to get his ‘fit to fly’ certificate. He was sent the result by e-mail 18 hours later. To be honest there probably isn’t anywhere then that will provide a result on the same day.....indeed if there is the cost of the test would probably be extortionate. I’m sorry if I mislead you.

I have no idea how you would be able to find a clinic or pharmacy in Morzine for PCR Covid testing - did you book your travel independently or through a tour operator or travel agency? If you did, perhaps you could ask what they might be able to suggest?

Thanks @Pinotpleasure, we have booked all our travel independently. Think the bigger ski operators like Crystal are sorting all this fir their clients. Think we’re going to drive now.

If you look at the exemptions for test requirements for entrance for Switzerland it includes travel from border areas, so you may not need a PCR:

www.bag.admin.ch/bag/en/home/krankheiten/ausbrueche-epidemien-pandemien/aktuelle-ausbrueche-epidemien/novel-cov/empfehlungen-fuer-reisende/quarantaene-einreisende.html#-924144951

Recommend Morzine Source facebook page for good updates on travel to that area.

To clarify that only applies for coming back into Switzerland from France, you still need the PCR to board the flight to Switzerland

@starsky22 - the information is contradictory. My DH rang the Swiss health folk who are saying the border rules only apply for residents of those border regions. I guess a lot of people will use only lateral flows, but I work for the NHS and cannot risk being stuck in Geneva over a discrepancy re PCR/LFT. We’ll drive this time

@ILOVEALLCAKES you can see a lot of the info that Crystal is providing to customers as it is a pdf doc linked on their main homepage, then a section per country. It is just their interpretations of the rules though, they still push it back on the customer to check the rules for the country they are going to. They do also have some test centre details in their app for the resort the customer is booked to go to but it’s the same as available on the tourist information website for the resorts, it’s all the same details. Have you tried the tourist information for your resort, where we are going the covid info and test locations has been added to the tourist information website this week - a lot of resorts are reopening for the season this weekend

I second using Morzine source magazine. They are keeping on top of rule changes and posting relevant links to official sources. if you haven’t already tried, might also be worth joining the Morzine Crew FB group and asking. I’d be surprised if the pharmacie de bourg pharmacy was closed both days.

Https:www.morzinesourcemagazine.com/covid-19-and-travel-to-morzine-les-gets-or-avoriaz-this-winter/

Hope you manage to get out there one way or another. We are off in a few days 🤞

I see you have decided to drive but in case this is useful for someone else... the M3 Sanitrade site at the airport offers an express PCR for an additional 50chf. You don't select it on booking but you select it on the paperwork when you arrive at the testing centre.

www.m3-test.ch/
Test PCR nasopharyngé
Test recommandé aux personnes ayant des symptômes en lien avec la COVID-19 depuis plus de 4 jours, aux personnes vulnérables ou travaillant dans le secteur de la santé, sur prescription médicale, ainsi qu'à celles ayant reçu une notification spécifiant expressément PCR de l’application SwissCovid ou une injonction du médecin cantonal à se faire tester.
Test ouvert également aux personnes asymptomatiques souhaitant se faire dépister pour leur propre confort, dans le cadre d’un voyage ou à la demande de leur entreprise.
Pas de limite d’âge mais uniquement si l’enfant ne présente aucun symptôme. En cas de symptôme, il convient de consulter un pédiatre.
Prestation standard : Résultat obtenu sous 24 heures.
Prestation express : CHF 50.- de surtaxe à la charge du patient
Pour tout test réalisé avant 16:30, résultat obtenu le même jour, et dans la nuit selon l’heure du rendez-vous.
Pour tout test réalisé après 16:30, résultat obtenu le lendemain avant midi.

We're flying back from Geneva on the 24th. For the pre departure (back to the U.K.) test we've ordered some lateral flow tests which we are taking with us to do out there 2 days before we come home. The company says they're approved for return to the U.K., you upload the tests and they issue the certificate,

The pharmacy in the centre of Morzine has lots of anti gen tests available even on 25th but I have not found any location doing PCR's in Morzine.. happy to be corrected.

(And I am sure you have checked all of the regulations but you need winter tyres to drive in Haute Savoie this year. All weather are not enough.)

Sorry missed the point re your France/Switzerland crossing now I've reread it.

@ChateauMargaux The surcharge makes the express test cost Fr.200!

The Swiss BAG Travelcheck is clear that if you're not a Swiss resident or a resident of a border area you need a PCR test, even for transit.

Yup.. which for a family of 4 would be 800chf!! And that is only one leg of the journey... it is all CRAZY!!!

@mnp321 do you mind saying which company. We're off to France in January and like the idea of taking tests with us.

We've ordered ours from C19 as they seemed to have decent reviews on Trustpilot

@mnp321 thanks. That's one less thing to worry about. I was envisaging traipsing around the resort trying to find a pharmacie to organise the test with my very limited french!

Ou est le chemist..? Yes, always best not to have to test out the Franglais!

Most resorts have been fairly open about what facilities have been put in place. Doctolib.fr is a good place to start to find pharmacies with testing capacity. Booking ahead of time is wise.