"I've never experienced anything like this before" Zurich daycare centers and schools empty due to flu epidemic

Due to the current flu epidemic, an excessive number of children are currently absent from Zurich's daycare centers and schools, and some classes have to be combined. Pediatricians are very busy and there is no relief in sight.

Due to the current flu epidemic, nurseries and schools in the canton of Zurich are virtually empty, reports the Tages-Anzeiger (paid content). According to the report, more than a third of the children at the kindergarten and elementary school in Esslingen, for example, are currently absent due to illness - 53 out of 150.

"I've never experienced anything like this before," principal Andrea Haas told the newspaper, adding: "Not even during coronavirus. If ten were absent at a time, that was a lot." In some school classes, there were just five pupils. Due to the current wave of illness, two classes had to be combined because one teacher was also absent. It is also noticeable that children are absent for particularly long periods - up to ten days in some cases.

Younger pupils are at a disadvantageSome parents enrol children later to improve their chances

Daycare centers and schools without children

According to the report, a similar situation can currently be observed in a number of other daycare centers and schools throughout the canton. For example, only 7 out of 21 children were present in a class in Dättlikon, half of the children in a school in Winterthur were absent and 14 out of 24 children in a fifth grade class in Uster were ill.

Markus Zollinger, head of the Uster elementary school, told the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper: "In general, you can say that we have slightly more sick children across all school units than in other years."

Flu epidemic starts late

According to the FOPH's Sentinella statistics, the flu is currently hitting the under-4s, the over-65s and schoolchildren the hardest. However, according to Corina Wilhelm, President of the Zurich Pediatricians' Association, many more children could be affected. This is because only those cases that have been to the doctor are recorded. In addition, only 15 percent of the 160 to 180 doctors participating in the statistics are pediatricians.

And they are particularly affected by the flu epidemic, as pediatrician Corina Wilhelm, who practices in Thalwil, confirms. This season, the illnesses are also having a particular impact on everyday school life: "Due to the somewhat later onset of the flu epidemic, it is more noticeable in schools this year," says Wilhelm. According to the doctor, the burden of illness was greatest over the Christmas holidays and New Year's Eve. And that's when the children were at home anyway.

There is currently no sign of the situation easing and the number of cases is continuing to rise. However, this is likely to have less of an impact on everyday school life in the coming weeks. In many cantons, the school vacations have already begun or are just around the corner.