Switzerland: 2,000 people, mostly children, quarantined after two Covid-19 Omicron cases at international school

‘It is essential to curb the introduction of the variant into our country’ say health authorities; ‘if identified, it is also essential to reduce transmission as much as possible’

Meanwhile WHO’s Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan says ‘we need to be prepared and cautious, not panic because we’re in a different situation to a year ago’

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Placards at the entrance of a campus of the International School of Geneva, Switzerland, closed after two cases of the Omicron variant were found on one of the three sites. About 2,000 people, including 1,600 pupils, are in quarantine.
Photo: AFP

Published: 10:31pm, 3 Dec 2021Updated: 10:46pm, 3 Dec 2021

About 1,600 children and 400 other people have been quarantined at Lake Geneva in western Switzerland because of two cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

The two cases at an international school were linked to a family member who had returned from a trip to South Africa, the health authorities of the cantons of Vaud and Geneva reported on Thursday evening.

Anyone who had been staying at Founex, one of the three sites of the International School of Geneva, is affected. Founex is about 25km (15 miles) north of Geneva on Lake Geneva.

One of the buildings at the Châtaigneraie campus of the International School of Geneva, closed after two cases of the Omicron variant were found, in Founex, Switzerland. Photo: AFP

Quarantine has been ordered for 10 days and everyone must take PCR tests. Authorities said 1,600 of those quarantined in Vaud and Geneva were children. Alongside students, parents and siblings would also need to take a test to check for the variant.

According to the school’s website, some 1,500 children and young people aged 3 to 18 are enrolled at the Founex site. They come from more than 80 countries. However, pupils from Geneva also attend the site.

Tens of thousands of foreigners live in Geneva because of the United Nations and dozens of other international organisations.

The school offers education in both English and French and costs up to US$38,000 a year.