Zurich students will be suspended if they refuse COVID test, court confirms

A court in Zurich has ruled that pupils in the canton's schools will be temporarily excluded if they refuse to test for COVID-19. The court argued that the requirement to test was “reasonable” and would not impair a student's education if they test positive.

Canton Zurich implements regular COVID tests in schools

Currently, Canton Zurich has implemented a system of regular COVID testing in the school system, in order to curb infections in school-age children. People aged zero to 20 currently have one of the highest rates of COVID infection in the country. Those who test positive have to quarantine for 10 days.

The legal case was brought by a father in Zurich who challenged the idea of testing their child. Under the current rules, all students who refuse to test are considered to be "infected with COVID" and must follow the same quarantine and exclusion rules, moving to remote learning until a negative test is returned. This principle was upheld by the court in the ruling on Monday.

Case may find itself in Federal Supreme Court

The court rejected the father’s case, arguing that the requirement to test was a reasonable expectation. They also threw out the concern that tests were not being carried out by doctors, ruling that any student who wants a doctor to perform the test can choose to do so from now on.

Apart from a hiatus at the start of the pandemic, Zurich has managed to keep its schools open. With the emergence of the Omicron variant, the canton has carried out mass testing to stop wider infection. SRF has reported that the father can appeal the decision, and the argument may move to the Federal Supreme Court in future.