Children in cities, towns, and local authorities designated "red" under the newly-approved traffic light plan for managing Israel's coronavirus crisis will not return to school before Thursday, the Corona cabinet decided Monday night.
This signifies a win for coordinator of the government's efforts to stop the spread of the virus, Professor Ronni Gamzu, who has repeated warned that opening schools in red communities would lead to an outbreak. Education Minister Yoav Gallant opposed Gamzu, calling his stance "baseless."
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The decision applies to all grades, but exempts students in special education and youth at risk. The Corona cabinet is slated to hold another decision on Thursday as part of an evaluation of possible closure measures for red towns.
"Public health considerations demand that we not start the school year in red areas, and given the urgency of the matter, it has been suggested that we … decide that the restrictions will take effect immediately," the cabinet decision stated.
The last-minute decision kept parents, children, and teacher in communities designated "red" on tenterhooks.
Gallant said, without mentioning the decision on the red cities, "I'm happy that the school year is starting. I promised that school would start on Sept. 1, in all schools nationwide, and I kept that promise."
As of Tuesday, 356 school-age children and 294 teachers were suffering from coronavirus. There were 3,310 students in quarantine, and 1,425 teachers in quarantine.
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