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Zug is one of the first cantons to initiate extensive mass testing in schools. Cost: 400,000 francs per week.
After the sports holidays, the canton of Zug conducts compulsory mass crown tests twice a week in all schools from the lower secondary level. What’s new is that preventive tests are repeated every other day, not just after individual positive cases, as Zug’s education director Stephan Schleiss explains.
“The health department brings saliva tests to classes twice a week, where each student spits into a tube. Then the tests are immediately evaluated. In this way, we can detect positive virus carriers that show no symptoms at an early stage, before they become contagious, ”says Schleiss.
With massive preventive testing, we mainly want to prevent the many quarantine cases that have recently accumulated in Swiss schools.
The massive preventive testing effort is considerable. The costs of the tests planned for the 5,000 students and teachers in the canton of Zug amount to 400,000 Swiss francs per week. Tryouts take place after sports break for at least eight weeks until spring break. The conclusion is that this means costs of around three million francs. These are run by the federal government.
Criticisms of the association of school leaders
In addition to Zug, the cantons of Basel-Land and Graubünden have also announced massive tests in schools. More are likely to follow. Jörg Berger from the Swiss School Directors Association criticizes the different testing strategies: it is a patchwork quilt. If so, a nationwide regulation is needed that applies to all schools when conducting mass testing.
It is not necessary to carry out a saliva test with every student in every school in Switzerland every other day.
Basically, the Swiss school principals association thinks little about mass preventive tests. According to Berger, principals support mass tests primarily if they are carried out on the basis of a specific suspicion. So the trust and cooperation of the parents is also there and the resources can be better pooled. “It is not necessary to do a saliva test in every school in Switzerland every other day with all students,” says Berger.
Fewer quarantine cases with preventive tests
In the canton of Zug, however, education director Stephan Schleiss defends his decision: “With massive preventive tests, we mainly want to prevent the many quarantine cases that have recently accumulated in Swiss schools.”
Thanks to massive testing, not only can the spread be prevented in time, but ideally many quarantines would also be removed and only a few people would have to isolate themselves if a case of corona positive was discovered early, explains Schleiss.
Massive testing, yes, but on a voluntary basis
The canton of Graubünden has already gained initial experience with mass testing in schools in recent weeks. Starting in March, mass tests will take place across the country in schools in Grisons, unlike Canton Zug, however, on a voluntary basis.
“It is important to us that mass testing is voluntary. The experience of the school tests in Malans and Schiers showed us that participation on a voluntary basis was already very high, ”explains Martin Bühler, head of cantonal management staff in Graubünden.
Introducing a nationwide testing concept for all schools, Bühler also points out that different conditions exist everywhere, so you need to check carefully where a standardization would serve and where tailor-made solutions are needed for regions.
