The government's Corona cabinet will be asked for the third time on Sunday to implement Professor Ronni Gamzu's "traffic light" plan, which categorizes cities, towns, and local authorities based on the number of new coronavirus cases identified among their residents, and determines what if any public health restrictions will be instated to curb the spread of the virus in those communities.
Gamzu, who is coordinating the government's efforts to battle coronavirus, recommends that the 2020-21 school year not begin as scheduled on Sept. 1 in cities designated "red."
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Meanwhile, neither Gamzu nor the Health Ministry is expected to propose a nationwide lockdown for the High Holidays at the current time, although the National Security Council might suggest it.
Gamzu is slated to present the cabinet with a plan detailing what restrictions will fall on cities based on their designation as red, orange, yellow, or green. Parameters for the coronavirus color-coding include the number of cases, the percentage of positive test results, and the rate at which the virus is spreading.
The Health Ministry is considering a few options for communities designated "red," including postponing the start of the school year for their students or a closure that will forbid residents from being more than 500 meters [yards] from their homes.
"We hope that the traffic light plan will be passed and not get bogged down in internal fighting," a Health Ministry official said Saturday.
"It's a good plan, and it should work. The Health Ministry listened to the feedback the previous times and has made adjustments, and this time the plan will be approved in full. If they don't, it will be because of a desire to target Gamzu," the official said.
This weekend, Gamzu visited Tira, a city recently added to the "red" list.
"I want to protect public health. If in the end, the only way left to me to protect the public's health is through a lockdown, what can you do – I'll do it. I will announce one in red cities. In any red city where the number of cases is growing, going back to school is like throwing gasoline on a fire. Kids go back, infect each other, go home and infect their parents, and maybe grandma and grandpa, too," Gamzu said.
Education Minister Yoav Gallant said that while his ministry had initially considered postponing the start of the school year in red cities for grades 10-12 until after the High Holidays, it was possible that the postponement would apply to kindergartens, elementary schools, and middle schools in red cities, as well.
"We'll look at the numbers and make a decision. The government has authorized me to make decisions. In this case, there is also the Corona cabinet. We'll hear people, and then decide. For 99% of the residents [of Israel], the school year will start on Sept. 1. Will there be some change in the red cities? We'll see. That's a small group of communities, and I hope that we'll be able to send them to school as planned, certainly the younger kids," Gallant said.
However, a Health Ministry official expressed dissatisfaction with the Education Ministry, saying, "You can't talk to them. We've proposed measures that would make it possible for third and fourth-graders to attend school in separate groups, to allow more fifth and sixth-grade students to go to school … They [the ministry] did not agree to it. We've stopped fighting with them," the official said.
In the meantime, a number of procedural decisions have been made. Secondary (middle and high) schools will not require students to wear masks while taking matriculation exams, but masks will be mandatory in regular classroom lessons and during breaks.
Restrictions put in place for nursery schools and kindergartens include limiting parental attendance to the first two days of the year, to allow the children to adjust. After that, parents will not be allowed in the facilities. The children will not be served breakfast, and will have to bring food from home.
Nursery schools and kindergartens will operate six days a week, as usual. The children are not required to wear masks. The staff must wear masks at the beginning and end of the day, when the children arrive and leave.
Elementary school students in the first and second grades are not required to wear masks. Third-graders are required to wear masks at recess, but not during lessons. Starting in the fourth grade, masks are mandatory.
First to fourth grades will attend school for at least five days per week, and fifth and sixth-grade students will have a minimum of two in-school days per week. The rest of their school time will be in the form of distance learning.
Students must also arrive at school with a signed health affidavit every day.
Middle and high school students have been assigned a minimum number of two in-school days of study per week, in groups of up to 18 students. The rest of their school time will be in the form of distance learning. Some local authorities have announced that they will be providing their students with four to five in-school days per week.
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