Coronavirus: Israel eases restrictions, but children remain out of school

The 1,000-m. restriction on traveling was abolished at 7 a.m. Nature reserves, national parks and outdoor archaeological sites opened, restaurants and stores became once again allowed to offer takeaway, one-on-one services and work-from-office for employees at companies that do not directly see the public have resumed. 

Even bed and breakfasts are now allowed to welcome nuclear families.

However, Israeli children were still at home Sunday morning. The government is meant to convene at 5 p.m. Israel time to debate the next steps for the country’s schools.

A late-night agreement by the Ministerial Committee on Coronavirus voted that schools will not open before Tuesday, as top ministers met to decide on what recommendations it would bring to the full cabinet on Sunday for discussion.

According to an agreement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Health Minister Yuli Edelstein, Education Minister Yoav Gallant and Finance Minister Israel Katz, the recommendation will be sending preschoolers, kindergarteners, students in first through fourth grades and in 11th and 12th grades back to school in yellow and green areas.

These students would learn according to the outline that existed before the lockdown – wearing masks and in larger capsules.

However, the recommendation for orange and red areas is different. These same students would return to school, but in half capsules – even smaller groups – hence requiring them to learn in-person only every-other-day. In addition, they will be asked to study in the open air.

The majority of students in the country, around 60%, live in orange and red areas.

“We are looking to open schools with a minimum risk of raising the rate of infection,” Edelstein said Saturday night in an interview with Channel 12.

On Saturday night, the number of new daily cases dropped for the first time in weeks in any substantial way. Numbers released around 8 p.m. showed that 6,273 people were diagnosed with the virus on Friday – 7.8% of the people screened were positive. However, by Sunday morning, the numbers looked less promising. There were 2,624 people diagnosed with coronavirus on Saturday – 9.4% of those screened.

The number of serious patients remains high. There were 1,110 reported Sunday morning, including more than 300 who were intubated.

The death toll stood at 5,074.

At the same time, the vaccination campaign is still going strong, with more than 3.4 million Israelis receiving at least one shot of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine.