Swiss perspectives in 10 languages

Entire Swiss school quarantined over two cases of Omicron variant

school
Testing in schools has been ramped up after an increase in Covid-19 infections in Switzerland. Keystone / Gian Ehrenzeller

Around 2,000 people, including 1,600 children at the International School of Geneva, will have to quarantine for ten days.

Two confirmed cases of the Omicron variant were detected at the La Châtaigneraie campus of the International School of Geneva in Founex this week. On Thursday, the cantonal medical services of the cantons of Geneva and Vaud (where the school is located) took a joint decision to quarantine all pupils and staff on the campus for ten days. These two cases are linked a family being exposed to an Omicron infected person returning from a trip to South Africa.

Apart from quarantining, all those affected will have to undergo a PCR test. Those in close contact will also have to take measures.

“Parents and siblings of the pupils must also be tested for the presence of the Omicron variant as soon as possible,” said the local authorities in a statement. 

So far, only a few cases of Omicron have been identified in Switzerland and none in Geneva or Vaud until now.

“This fact requires us today, as a precautionary principle, to decide on strong measures,” said the Geneva authorities. 
 

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

No Swiss bank in phase with environmental objectives

More

Swiss banks failing environment, says WWF

This content was published on None of the 15 major Swiss retail banks is meeting international climate and biodiversity targets, according to a ranking by WWF Switzerland.

Read more: Swiss banks failing environment, says WWF
UNRWA provides emergency assistance to just over one million Palestine refugees, or about 75 per cent of all Palestine refugees in Gaza, who lack the financial means to cover their basic food.

More

Lazzarini: no alternative to UNRWA in Gaza

This content was published on The only alternative to the UN Palestinian agency’s work in Gaza is to allow Israel to run services there, Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner-General, told reporters in Geneva on Monday.

Read more: Lazzarini: no alternative to UNRWA in Gaza

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR