Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and coronavirus commissioner Prof. Ronni Gamzu expressed concerns about the reopening of the education system on Monday, as yeshivas and kindergartens reopened around the country and schools in haredi communities opened against Health Ministry regulations on Monday.
Speaking Monday morning at Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, Netanyahu talked optimistically about the reduction in rate of coronavirus infections and Israel’s ability to overcome the crisis, but insisted, “Everyone must follow the rules.”
He went on to speak specifically about red cities where it was widely reported Sunday and Monday that ultra-Orthodox schools have opened, in defiance of the lockdown regulations. Without going into detail about these widespread violations — reportedly at least half the ultra-Orthodox schools have opened — he said that the rate of infection would only continue to go down if everyone pushed themselves to obey the regulations.
“We’ll push you to obey them, but you have to push yourselves, it’s not less important,” he said, adding, “We can get out of this [second wave] better than most countries, but only if we do it together.”
Like Prof. Hezi Levy, director general of the Health Ministry, who spoke after him, the prime minister thanked the teams of first responders on the front lines of the crisis and praised innovative medical techniques and vaccine research, which both said they hoped would bear fruit son.
Levy also emphasized testing as a way to combat the virus, in addition to following lockdown regulations, and urged everyone who may have been exposed to the virus to get checked.
At a meeting of the Knesset Labor, Welfare and Health Committee on Monday, Gamzu warned that reopening schools would open the door to outbreaks in young populations who would then infect older populations. “There is no dam that can withstand this current,” warned Gamzu, stressing that the driving force of the outbreak are youth who in general don’t have severe symptoms.
“They are contagious, carry [the virus], are usually not sick and push the infection forward to older ages, where the rate of disease and hospitalization is high and this also causes, of course, cases of death and difficulties in the hospitalization system,” explained the commissioner.
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Gamzu’s comments came as yeshivas around the country reopened on Monday, including in haredi communities where infection rates are higher compared to many other areas in Israel.
Schools in haredi communities continued to open against Health Ministry regulations on Monday.
The Ramat Gan municipality announced that eight kindergarten teachers were found to be infected with the virus on Monday in tests taken before schools reopened. The municipality stressed that such tests helped avoid risks that could lead to reclosing kindgartens and putting hundreds in quarantine.
The Private Kindergarten Forum announced on Monday that only 3,000 kindergarten staff members had been tested, calling the low number a “failure.”
“The government has once again failed in correctly building an exit strategy and opening of the education system,” said Private Kindergarten Forum Chairman Hanan Dagan. “Due to the short preparation period that was provided, about 3,000 kindergarten teachers and assistants underwent a coronavirus test out of about 100,000 staff members. This is a mockery and meaningless.”
Despite the lack of testing, 90% of private kindergartens reopened.
“The Health Ministry’s recommendations for returning to routine are detached from reality – it is not possible to instruct preschool teachers to wear masks and maintain a distance of two meters,” added Dagan.
Despite the concerns surrounding the education system, Gamzu expressed satisfaction with the downward trend of infection rates that has been recorded since the national coronavirus lockdown, calling the success a “certificate of honor for all societies in Israel.”
Gamzu stated that Israel is currently at an R number of 0.6, meaning that each infected person is, on average, infecting less than one other person and the outbreak is shrinking.
“During a second lockdown with a tired population, reaching such a R number is a certificate of honor for all societies in the State of Israel,” said Gamzu. “With all the difficulty the public took the issue seriously, our citizens are responsible, they cooperated and their confidence in decisions was high.”Gamzu announced that, in the coming days, quarantine would be shortened to 12 days, with a test administered on the 10th day.
The Health Ministry reported on Monday that there were 892 new coronavirus cases diagnosed the day before and another 128 since midnight. Of those screened on Sunday, 3.5% tested positive.
There were 619 people in serious condition – a number that has been on the decline for the past several days – including 212 who were intubated. The death toll stood at 2,209 on Monday morning.
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