Special Ed school closed after teacher infected with coronavirus

'As soon as we became aware of the issue, we closed the school'

Israeli students  wear protective face masks as they return to school for the first time since the outbreak of the coronavirus, May 3, 2020 (photo credit: OLIVIER FITOUSSI/FLASH90)
Israeli students wear protective face masks as they return to school for the first time since the outbreak of the coronavirus, May 3, 2020
(photo credit: OLIVIER FITOUSSI/FLASH90)
A special education school in the haredi city of Modi'in Illit was closed on Thursday, after a teacher's aid who came in contact with students was confirmed to be infected with the novel coronavirus, according to KAN.
"They checked her temperature when she arrived according to the regulations, but she didn't have a fever," said the secretary of the school to Channel 13. "As soon as her husband was tested, she was tested as well. As soon as we became aware of the issue, we closed the school."
The teacher's aid and the other teachers at the school are all in quarantine, according to KAN.
The news comes just a day after 1st through 3rd graders and 11th through 12th graders returned to school around the country, after being closed since March due to the coronavirus outbreak.
According to the government’s decision, announced Friday, schools for special education will open fully, and ultra-Orthodox school pupils from seventh to eleventh grade will return to the classroom.
The decision regarding fourth to tenth graders will be made later in the month, with the government requiring a return to school before the end of May. Kindergartens and preschools are scheduled to reopen next Sunday.
A report on plans to re-open schools following the coronavirus lockdown suggested that doing so has the potential to increase the spread of coronavirus by 20%, according to Israel's KAN 11.
Eytan Halon, Tzvi Joffre, Omri Ron and Maayan Jaffe-Hoffman contributed to this report.