Swiss authorities say they’ve ordered 300 people into quarantine after a so-called “superspreader” outbreak of the new coronavirus at a Zurich nightclub.
Zurich officials said in a statement that a man who had been at the Flamingo Club a week ago tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday, and that five people who were with him there were then tested and also were positive and reported to authorities on Friday.
Working from a list of guests provided by the club, officials were then able to get in touch with the others who were there and ordered them into quarantine on Saturday for 10 days in order to try and stop any further spread of the virus as they are tested.
Swiss officials say the incident shows how important it is to stick to hygiene and distance regulations as lockdown measures are gradually lifted. They say if there are more superspreader type events in clubs they will have to resort to closing such facilities again.
Like many European countries, Switzerland had drastically reduced the number of new coronavirus infections, and is now starting to see a slight uptick as it tries to restart its economy.
In its latest report posted Sunday, Switzerland reported 69 new cases overnight from Friday to Saturday for a total of 31,555 cases; 1,681 people have died.
