A group of ‘gap-year students’ who fled the UK lockdown to go skiing have been forced into self-isolation after 16 tested positive for Covid, according to reports.
The 26 British skiers were in the tiny French village of Vallorcine, in the Chamonix Valley, when one of the group felt ill and took a test, MailOnline reported.
After that test came back positive, the rest of the group were tested and, by Thursday evening, 16 had discovered they had the virus.
The organisers of the trip insist they did nothing wrong and took every precaution but villagers told the website they are scared the group have spread the new ‘more deadly’ British strain of the virus to the tiny community.
The students – mostly aged between 18 and 20 – were planning to take a £8,900 ten week ski instructors course in Switzerland but were not allowed to enter the country directly from the UK because of current travel rules.
Instead they left the UK between January 13 and 17 and it is believed they planned to spend 10 days in Vallorcine, on the France-Switzerland border, before crossing over.
Ski lifts have been closed down in France indefinitely but hotels at resorts are open and bars and restaurants are offering a takeaway service. In Switzerland, ski lifts are operating.
The students’ tests have now been sent to Lyon for analysis and it will take a further eight to 10 days to determine if the strain is the highly contagious British variant.
One villager, who didn’t want to be named, told MailOnline that the inhabitants in the tight-knit community were ‘not pleased’.
He said: ‘Anyone who has been near these people are being tested. People are worried, especially if it’s this new British variant of the virus. Only 400 people live here and suddenly we’ve got 16 cases.
‘Was this really essential travel? They seem to have used a loophole to escape Lockdown in the UK and travel down through France where they can wait out their time until they can then go to Switzerland to ski.
‘They couldn’t fly to Switzerland so came here instead. Our lifts are closed here in France so it’s even more infuriating that they have used our village as a stop-over. It’s irresponsible. People here are not pleased.’
Guy Ordway, a partner of Peak Leaders in Verbier who organised the trip, told MailOnline it was important people were still able to get qualifications, even during a pandemic.
He said: ‘We have followed the rules to the letter. At no point has it been an exercise in cheating the system. It’s very unfortunate.
‘Skiing is considered an exclusive, luxury sport and for some it’s hard to imagine it is a qualification. But this is exactly what these students are doing. It’s part of their education. They are not breaching any rules.’
Mr Ordway said the trip had been thoroughly researched and the French consulate in London had been informed. He said the students all tested negative before leaving the UK and may have caught the virus on the train as they travelled through France.
The group are now quarantining in their rooms with their meals left outside their doors. All hotel staff and any villagers who may have come into contact with the group are being tested.
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source https://metro.co.uk/2021/01/23/british-students-test-positive-for-covid-at-france-ski-resort-13953585/