Geneva places 2,000 people in quarantine after two Omicron cases

People walk in the city center ahead of the new lockdown measures during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Geneva, Switzerland November 2, 2020. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/file photo

ZURICH (Reuters) - The Swiss cantons of Geneva and Vaud have placed 2,000 people, most of them children, into quarantine after two cases of the Omicron variant were detected at an international school.

Geneva, a hub for international diplomats and home to the World Health Organization (WHO) which last week classified Omicron as a SARS-CoV-2 "variant of concern", had previously confirmed one case in an individual who had returned from South Africa and another suspected case linked to the same individual.