Teachers: urgent corona coordination needed for schools
Switzerland’s two main teaching associations have called for urgent, coordinated measures in schools as the country grapples with a major outbreak of the virus among pupils.
This content was published on
3 minutes
LCH/SWI swissinfo.ch/Keystone-SDA/ilj
“Shortly before the Christmas holidays and due to the extremely high daily infection numbers among children and young people – as well as the threat due to variants like Omicron – we are calling for effective measures that will drastically reduce the number of cases in the new year,” a joint statementExternal link from the German-speaking Federation of Swiss Teachers (LCH) and its French-speaking counterpart (SER) said on Tuesday.
Only this way can schools stay open and remain safe places of work and learning, the statement continued.
The associations are calling on the government and cantons – which are in charge of educational matters each have their own anti-corona school measures – to impose uniform rules across the country for repetitive mass saliva testing in schools and mask wearing “when epidemiologically pertinent”. Also key, they say, is coordination on the use of CO2 sensors, air filters and airing in classrooms.
The country is currently undergoing a fifth wave of the coronavirus with the number of daily infections recorded at over 8,000 on Tuesday. Infection rates are currently highestExternal link among the 10-19 age group in Switzerland, followed by 0-9-year-olds.
Omicron has already made its way into the country: earlier this week a class in Geneva was put into quarantine over a possible case of the new variant.
‘Swiss way’
Switzerland, unlike its neighbours Germany and Italy, has largely kept its schools open during the coronavirus pandemic, except for a short shutdown in spring 2020. Measures like distancing, handwashing and ventilation have been in place, but primary pupils have mostly not been required to wear masks.
In reaction to the virus situation, some cantons have stepped up their school measures over the past weeks, with mask requirements, starting the Christmas holidays early or pushing back the return to school after the holidays.
More
More
Covid school closures: is the Swiss way sustainable?
This content was published on
School closures are detrimental to pupils and should only be used as a last resort, say the authors of a new study.
But the government has so far shied away from imposing national rules. Its original plan to make mass testing at schools compulsory in its December 3 pandemic measures was shelved following opposition from some cantons.
In its next batch of Covid measures, to be announced and confirmed this Friday, the government has targeted mask-wearing. This would be compulsory for upper secondary schools (age 16 plus) but only recommended for primary and lower secondary school.
More action needed
The teachers’ associations said the rise in quarantine among pupils and teachers over the past last weeks had “strongly shaken the school system” with unforeseen absences bringing schools to their limits.
They said that although cantons were in charge of education and schools, the “health of our children and young people was a national issue and must therefore be managed in this way”.
“If there are national measures for restaurants, shops, museums and other closed rooms, this also has to apply to school buildings,” the statement said.
More
More
Coronavirus: the situation in Switzerland
This content was published on
An overview of the latest Covid-related information in the Alpine nation.
University students in Switzerland join Gaza protest wave
This content was published on
Pro-Palestinian activists occupied university buildings in Lausanne, Geneva and Zurich on Tuesday, widening the protest movement in the Alpine nation.
TradeXBank to resume full operations after Sberbank Switzerland taken off sanctions list
This content was published on
TradeXBank, the former Swiss branch of Russia’s Sberbank, will be able to resume its dollar-denominated activities from the second half of this year.
Geneva decides not to remove controversial memorials
This content was published on
The city of Geneva has presented an action plan regarding a series of controversial local statues and monuments of historical figures linked to racism, colonialism or slavery.
University of Lausanne calls for end to pro-Palestine sit-in
This content was published on
The pro-Palestinian occupation continues at the University of Lausanne (UNIL). On Monday evening, a group of students refused to agree to the deadline set by the rectorate.
Ukraine peace conference should include Russia, says Chinese ambassador
This content was published on
China supports a peace conference on the Ukraine war that would see equal participation of all parties, says Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui.
This content was published on
A majority of Swiss citizens have open attitudes towards various infertility treatments, including even egg donation, which is currently prohibited.
Reports of Swiss cyber fraud almost doubled in six months
This content was published on
The head of the new Federal Office for Cybersecurity (FOC), Florian Schütz, has presented a new strategy after just over four months in office.
Government moots more Covid measures, including partial closures
This content was published on
A week after tightening certificate and mask-wearing rules, the government has proposed new measures to ease Covid-19 pressure on hospitals.
Study shows benefit of regular classroom ventilation
This content was published on
A Swiss study has found that poorly ventilated school classrooms record up to six times as many Covid-19 cases compared with those which are regularly aired.
Entire Swiss school quarantined over two cases of Omicron variant
This content was published on
Around 2,000 people, including 1,6000 children at the International School of Geneva will have to quarantine for 10 days.
After the summer break, Swiss schools see a spike in Covid cases
This content was published on
The weekly SonntagsZeitung conducted a survey of the 13 German-speaking cantons and found almost all registered a significant uptick in cases.
Covid 19: teachers call for stricter measures for new school year
This content was published on
Mass coronavirus testing in schools should continue, teachers say, as concerns grow of a spike in Delta-related coronavirus cases for the new term.
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.