Swiss schools should stay open ‘for now’, say experts

Both compulsory and non-compulsory schools in Switzerland should not be immediately closed because of the continued COVID pandemic, say the Government’s scientific advisors and education experts.

A conference of Cantonal (Swiss district) Ministers of Education concluded that the cantons expect to keep both primary and secondary schools open, as closing them would have a ‘negative impact’ on the mental health and education of young people, reports SwissInfo.

Guy Parmelin, holder of the rotating Swiss presidency for 2021, is reported to have told a media briefing that the decision to open or close school was ‘up to the cantons’. The government’s scientific taskforce believes that distance learning should only be ordered if the situation regarding infection risks becomes ‘dangerous or very dangerous’, and that it should be limited to secondary educaiton.

As of yesterday (20 January), according to figures by worldometer there had been 504,918 COVID cases in Switzerland, and 8,924 people had died. Of these deaths, nine were of children aged 0-17, and six of those had underlying health conditions.