Ministers on Monday decided to keep schools closed at least until Thursday due to the high infection rate of COVID-19.
The decision was made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in consultation with Defense Minister Benny Gantz, Education Minister Yoav Galant and Health Minister Yuli Edelstein and will be presented to the cabinet on Tuesday.
A kindergarten teacher in Beer Sheva prepares to recover her children from more than a month away under lockout restrictions
(Photo: Herzl Yosef)
After lifting some restrictions on Sunday from a month-long lockout, ministers said more time was needed to prepare schools in low-morbidity areas to safely reopen for children aged 0-10.
Children have been away from school for over a month with parents wanting to see them return to class.
Ministers, having reached an agreement at Sunday’s cabinet meeting, must decide whether to allow more of the economy to work while schools remain closed for the youngest children and the risks from the virus remain high.
The Ministry of Health said Monday that 5,425 new cases of coronavirus have been diagnosed out of some 63,000 tests performed in the past 24 hours, meaning that 8.6% of the tests yielded good results. The ministry also said 351 people had died from COVID-19 since the beginning of February.
Coronavirus ward at Ziv Medical Center in Safed
(photo: AP)
Galant issued a statement to parents late Sunday, explaining the need to keep schools closed for a few extra days and give local cities time and school principles to prepare classrooms and facilities.
“Children’s health and safety is very important,” he said in an online post
Education Minister Yoav Galant in an interview in the Ynet studio last month
(Photo: yoavian bird)
After making some suggestions in earlier consultations, suggesting that learning could be done outdoors, officials participating in Monday’s consultations said that was not a viable option.
Health officials warned Sunday that the premature opening of schools and trade could lead to far more deaths from coronavirus in a much younger population than before.
Education officials and experts in the field agreed that local cities should decide how schools should operate in their areas while extending health ministry guidelines.