The option to close all schools is still on the table, Salmon says, “The next few days will be crucial.” For the time being, only schools will be closed where a student or staff member has tested positive for corona. Until now, this has happened at 92 educational institutions.
A gymnasium in Jerusalem was the hardest hit. There, more than 150 students and teachers became infected with the virus.
Teacher: I can understand them
Marion Golany works as an English teacher at a primary school a little further in town. No infections have yet been detected at her school, so classes will continue for the time being. “Yet many parents keep their children at home,” says Golany. “The day before yesterday there were only three children in class, in a class of seventeen. And I can understand them somewhere.”
In March, Israel decided to largely shut down public life to stem the spread of the virus. The schools also closed. When the number of new cases fell, the government decided to open schools step by step last month. Not all volumes at the same time, and a maximum of fifteen students per class. In mid-May, those restrictions were released and all students were allowed back to school.
Maximum half classes
But that decision was premature, says professor of epidemiology and former senior official Gabi Barbash: “We should have held on to half classes of up to 15 students. Children not only light each other, but also their relatives at home. As a result, we see the number of active infections grow again now. “
The full classes make a big difference, says teacher Golany: “Everything seems normal again, and it is difficult to keep a distance. You can no longer prevent them from hugging and jumping on each other. After all, they are children in a primary school . “
The teacher hopes that her school will be spared and that she can finish the year with the students: “Ultimately, school is much more fun than teaching via the computer.”
Since the outbreak began, Israel has a total of more than 17,000 confirmed covid-19 infections. At least 290 patients were killed by the virus.
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