Strasbourg in rush to contain Delta variant coronavirus cluster

Authorities in Strasbourg have launched an "immediate action plan" to stem the spread the Delta coronavirus variant, after a cluster was detected in a local school. 

The Rhine School of the Arts, in Strasbourg. © Wikimedia Commons

Four people tested positive at the Rhine School of the Arts, while a further 43 contact cases are under investigation.

The prefecture of the Bas-Rhin region has closed the school and launched a large-scale action plan to track down potential cases.

Targeted vaccination operations are planned over the weekend, with priority given to students and to bar and restaurant staff.

L’Agence régionale de santé donne les mesures prises après la découverte jeudi du variant anglais dans la Haute école des arts du Rhin. https://t.co/xdlXtusPJy

— DNA (@dnatweets) June 12, 2021

“This is overwhelming news," David Cascaro, the school's director, told local newspaper the Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace, adding that the school's popular end-of-year graduation party was now in doubt.

"There were already no more classes, but the big problem for us is graduation."

Highly contagious

The Delta variant, first detected in India, is up to 60 percent more contagious than the Alpha, the English variant that crippled France over the winter.

Authorities in the UK, where the Delta variant currently accounts for more than 90 percent of cases, say vaccination programmes have proven effective in slowing down its spread.