Students found outside homes after being quarantined for coronavirus

The student diagnosed with the coronavirus continued going to school after he knew he was supposed to be in quarantine.

By CELIA JEAN
A disinfection company sanitizes a closed school against the spread of coronavirus in Lebanon (photo credit: REUTERS/ALI HASHISHO)
A disinfection company sanitizes a closed school against the spread of coronavirus in Lebanon
(photo credit: REUTERS/ALI HASHISHO)
Teenagers who were supposed to be in quarantine were found wandering outside of their houses on Wednesday. The children attend the same school of another Israeli who, in his spare time, worked at the Red Pirate store, where he caught the coronavirus from one of his coworkers, according to Ynet.
The Red Pirate Purim costume store in Or Yehuda, a suburb of Tel Aviv, is the first place in which an Israeli was confirmed to have the virus who did not contract it from the Diamond Princess cruise ship. The man contracted the virus after a weekend visit to Italy, and after lying to the Health Ministry about his whereabouts, continued to work at the store, effectively giving the virus not only to his wife, but a female soldier shopping there and the teenage worker.
The man told the Health Ministry that he was only at the store for two hours, however he was found to be working at the store for three days, and didn't go into quarantine until five days after his arrival.
The children were caught by Health Ministry inspectors, according to chairman of the Brenner High School parent's association Ronit Nir. "I really hope from now on everyone will remain in isolation."
A notice was sent out at 6 a.m. Wednesday morning notifying parents of the diagnosis and the expected quarantine of about 100 students known to have been in close proximity to the teenager. Before the arrival of most of the rest of the students, it was decided by the ministry that the entire high school must be put under quarantine. The few students that did arrive were sent back home.
In an interview with Ynet, the high school's principal, Itzik Houldei, said that he can, "try to guess the reasoning of the Health Ministry's decision" to put the whole school under quarantine, and that's because the teenager diagnosed, "was at the school three days before he was told to go into quarantine himself."
However, once the student was aware that he had to go into quarantine following the diagnosis of his coworker he continued to go to school.
The teenager who was diagnosed with the virus after working at the Red Pirate store is in the ninth grade, and lives in the community of Iris, the same area in which his coworker attended synagogue before his diagnosis.
"Brenner residents, after the council has done followups on the quarantined [people], children were found outside their houses. We are clarifying the rules sent out by the Health Ministry, stating that the violation [of the quarantine] is a criminal offense," Brenner regional council wrote on their Facebook page.
"We are asking in every way possible that parents and children follow the quarantine guidelines, for the good of not only yours but the community's health," they continued.
The school was only notified that one of the students was diagnosed with the virus Tuesday night. "Some parents responded calmly, while others were stressed," Houldei said.