2,500 students quarantined at prestigious hospitality management school in Switzerland

The École Hôtelière de Lausanne has quarantined about two-thirds of its students following 11 confirmed positive cases of Covid-19

Credit: Jean-Christophe Bott /Keystone

Thousands of students at a world-famous hospitality management school in Switzerland have been forced into quarantine due to a “significant” coronavirus outbreak, which the school says was sparked by student parties.

Around 2,500 undergraduate students at the École Hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL), which is widely considered to be one of the most prestigious hospitality management schools in the world, have been told to stay in their apartments, some of which are on campus.

One student, speaking under condition of anonymity, told The Telegraph that students were frustrated at being blamed for the quarantine: “Students are super angry. I think them starting the email [informing us of the quarantine] by blaming us was just not cool.”

Eleven students tested positive for the virus. 

The quarantine, which affects around two thirds of all students in the school, is to be kept in place until at least Monday. Students must continue their studies — which include topics such as the art of fine dining and service, restaurant management, and hotel management — online.

The canton of Vaud is one of the current coronavirus hotspots in Switzerland. Further restrictions and measures, such as mask requirements, were brought into place there last Thursday. A number of students may have thrown parties on Wednesday evening before the additional measures were brought in, Swiss media has reported.

Coronavirus Switzerland Spotlight Chart — cases default

Students claim that some were not informed directly by university authorities of the immediate quarantine, but were instead informed after the announcement by fellow students and that they were given no time to prepare.

“I found out through a group chat as not everybody got the actual email that explained the situation. Probably five minutes after I saw the screen shot of the email on our intakes group chat, newspapers already had written articles and everything,” said one, anonymously.

The EHL opened in 1893, making it the oldest hospitality management school in the world, training many international students, and symbolising Swiss hospitality. The campus contains several training restaurants for students, including the Berceau des Sens, a gourmet Michelin star restaurant that is open to the public.

Since the opening of EHL, Switzerland has become a hospitality training hub, with around 25 training schools in operation.

Sherif Mamdouh, a spokesperson for the school, said "The quarantine decision was taken by the Cantonal Physician’s Office and not by EHL… The quarantine decision was taken as a precautionary measure, despite the vast majority of students having acted responsibly."

He added: "The internal notification went out to the students within minutes after having been authorised."