Sunday press: government evaluating Covid measures for schools

The Swiss government is considering whether to tighten coronavirus measures for older pupils, according to a report in the NZZ am Sonntag. Meanwhile the debate over school closures continues, as concerns grow over the new virus variants. All schools were shut down by the government during the first wave of the pandemic in spring 2020. Since then, the Swiss government has left the schools issue to the cantons, who are in charge of educational matters in Switzerland. Unlike other countries, schools are currently open in Switzerland, but under strict hygiene measures and masks from age 12 onwards. The authorities have repeatedly expressed their wish to keep schools open. But there may be some tightening of measures ahead. According to the NZZ am Sonntag, interior minister Alain Berset’s department has asked the Swiss National Covid-19 Science Task Force and the Conference of Cantonal Education Directors for reports on coronavirus measures in schools. The article says the move...