As coronavirus spreads, some parents refuse to send children to school

‘We were up very late trying to figure it out’

By ROSSELLA TERCATIN
Gymnasia Rehavia school in Jerusalem (photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Gymnasia Rehavia school in Jerusalem
(photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
For many Jerusalem parents, the end of the Shavuot and Shabbat two-day break was marked by a bitter surprise. Between Friday and Saturday, the handful of new coronavirus cases among students and teachers at Gymnasia Rehavia had increased to more than 120.
Furthermore, the situation set off an alarm in several other schools around the city attended by siblings, teammates or friends of those infected or exposed.
Speaking to The Jerusalem Post, several parents shared their feelings about the situation, expressing concern but also a feeling that after the education system resumed activities, it was not surprising that something like this would occur.
“We found out about what happened only on Saturday night. We were up very late to figure out what to do,” said Yael, a mother of three. Her son’s class at Hartman High School was required to enter isolation because some of the students play basketball with boys who attend Gymnasia Rehavia, at least one of whom was infected.
As required by the guidelines from Efrata elementary school, where her two younger children go, Yael did not send them on Sunday. Her husband, a medical professional, also did not go to work.
“We are waiting for the results of my son’s test,” she said. “I’m not really worried about us getting sick since we are young and healthy, while all my children’s grandparents live abroad. But it is difficult to be back in isolation after the release, especially for my sons. They are very upset.”
Yael said she did not want to complain, even if the situation is tough.
“I don’t know if there was anything that could have been done differently to prevent it,” she said. “I would say that maybe the only decision that could have been avoided was to reopen after-school activities and youth movements and just give the priority to schools, because it has facilitated the virus spreading very quickly in different circles. I’m hearing about the same problems in other schools as well. It seems that the whole seventh grade in Jerusalem is going into isolation.”
For Nitza, a mother of three girls ages 15, 12 and 10, Sunday was supposed to mark the first day she would send her daughters back to school, since her family is part of the high-risk population.
“I wanted to be more cautious, especially after hearing that people in schools were not really wearing masks,” she told the Post. “I wanted to see what would happen, and now the whole Gymnasia case has emerged.”
The authorities and others had a lax attitude over the past few days, Nitza said.
 “They said everyone needed to wear a mask and then decided that masks were not required because of the heat wave,” she said. “What happened at the Gymnasia happened because people were not wearing masks.”
Nonetheless, she sent her eldest daughter back to school on Sunday because she was reassured that all the relevant guidelines were followed, including masks, the distance between desks and special precautions for those who belong to at-risk groups, Nitza said.
However, since they reopened, the two schools her younger daughters attend informed parents it would not be feasible to observe all Health Ministry guidelines.
“They told us there was no room to leave enough distance between every pupil and that they would do their best,” she said.
In both schools, there are either siblings or friends of Gymnasia’s students.
“I’m therefore still keeping my youngest daughters at home,” Nitza said. “I’m worried that they might get infected.”
The preschool of David Bogomolny’s five-year-old daughter also is attended by some siblings of people from the Gymnasia.
“The school informed us of the situation and that those children would stay at home [on Sunday],” he told the Post.
He and his wife did not really consider the possibility of keeping their daughter at home, Bogomolny said.
“We are careful,” he said. “We follow the rules, and we avoid outings that are unnecessary to minimize the risk. But I also think that after the lockdown [ended], it was to be expected there would be more cases.”
“I also believe that many things in life present risks, and we cannot shut down our lives indefinitely,” Bogomolny said. “But I also want to acknowledge that we are young and healthy, and we only have one child. For other families, the situation might be different.”