Israel’s education minister: Schools with coronavirus will close instantly

People report trouble getting screened * PMO staffer tests positive for COVID-19

By MAAYAN JAFFE-HOFFMAN
Israelis wear face masks for fear of the coronavirus as they walk through the market in Ramle on May 1, 2020. Daily Isaraeli life is slowly getting back after the outbreak of the Coronavirus. (photo credit: YOSSI ALONI/FLASH90)
Israelis wear face masks for fear of the coronavirus as they walk through the market in Ramle on May 1, 2020. Daily Isaraeli life is slowly getting back after the outbreak of the Coronavirus.
(photo credit: YOSSI ALONI/FLASH90)
Any school that is found to have an active case of coronavirus will be closed immediately to stop its spread among education institutions, Education Minister Yoav Gallant said Monday.
In recent days, there has been a surge in coronavirus infection throughout the country, especially in schools. A report disseminated Monday afternoon by the Education Ministry showed that there were 13 new students and teachers diagnosed with coronavirus in the last day and that the number in isolation tripled.
So far, 212 students and educational staff have been diagnosed with the virus, and more than 5,000 are in isolation, according to the data.
Although there are cases across the country, the majority are in Jerusalem – 174 students and educational staff, among them 147 from Gymnasia Rehavia.
The ministry shuttered 13 institutions, seven preschools and six schools, and at least 10 other schools were closed by their parent-teacher associations for fear that students and staff had encountered sick patients, although no coronavirus cases were found in them.
Sixteen schools are closed in Jerusalem.
Gallant set up a special headquarters to evaluate the state of infection in the country’s educational institutions each day, based on data provided by the Health Ministry, to help establish guidelines.
There were several new cases of infection reported on Monday.
In Givat Ze’ev, an elementary-school teacher tested positive, and the school was closed. Some 278 students and 35 staff members entered isolation through June 10. Similarly, a student at an elementary school in the Mateh Yehuda region adjoining Jerusalem was diagnosed with the virus, and 29 students and six staff members entered isolation.
A Jerusalem middle school and a Hadera high school also had cases on Monday, sending a collective 1,829 students and 251 staff members into isolation.
A child being cared for at a Jerusalem preschool in the Anglo-heavy area of Katamon caught the virus from his father, who teaches at Gymnasia Rehavia. All 30 children and at least one of their parents went into isolation, as did six staff members.
In Beersheba, some 175 students and 13 staff members went into isolation until June 9 after a seventh-grader tested positive. Other infections in the city sent 32 second-graders and 30 preschoolers into isolation.
In total, there are now 2,006 active cases of coronavirus in Israel. The last time the country had more than 2,000 cases was on May 24. Of the sick, 32 are in serious condition, including 29 who are ventilated.
On Sunday, Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said the country’s testing policy was shifting, and anyone who wants to be screened will be able to.
“I ask the public: Go and get tested,” he said.
But on Monday, parents of students who attend schools with cases of infection told The Jerusalem Post they could not get screened.
“It was a real runaround,” said a parent of a Jerusalem preschool student. He went into isolation late Sunday night after his son’s classmate was diagnosed with coronavirus.
The parent told the Post he had called Meuhedet Health Services early Monday and requested a referral for his son and the other family members. The doctor refused to provide a referral for anyone but the preschooler.
“Because we don’t have a car, Magen David Adom came to our house,” the parent said. When he asked MDA about getting testing, the paramedics said no, citing the need for a referral.
Other parents at the school said they waited to be screened for as long as seven hours at MDA’s drive-in complex at Teddy Stadium.
“My daughter is coughing, and my wife and I want to be tested, too,” the parent said.
He also complained that while he did receive a note telling him there was an active case in the preschool and the family was required to isolate, no other information has been provided thus far by the Health or Education ministries. “We are very disappointed.”
Several similar cases occurred at other health funds, N12 reported.
Part of Edelstein’s new policy is that doctors can write referrals for anyone they think should be screened.
The ministry reported that it conducted 5,636 tests on Monday, up from 213 the day before.
An employee in the Prime Minister’s Office tested positive for coronavirus on Monday evening. He underwent epidemiological questioning, which will determine how close he got to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and how others in the PMO should behave.
The Prime Minister’s Office released a statement confirming that an employee has tested positive for the virus, adding that an epidemiological investigation is underway and that once it is complete, the appropriate instructions will be given to whoever came in contact with him.
Netanyahu went into quarantine in early April after being in contact with Housing and Construction Minister Ya’acov Litzman, who was health minister at the time and who tested positive for COVID-19. Mossad Director Yossi Cohen and National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat also entered isolation for the same reason.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Israel Katz and Tourism Minister Asaf Zamir announced an aid plan of NIS 300 million million for the Israeli tourism industry on Monday after meeting with its representatives.
“The entire tourism industry is in a severe crisis due to the coronavirus pandemic, and it is our job to act swiftly to bring it back on track and assist in its recovery,” Zamir said.
About 50% of all visitors to hotels are tourists, which means that without them, it is nearly impossible to maintain the everyday operational fees that hotels require. Moreover, the coronavirus pandemic has completely stopped the entry of tourists into Israel since mid-March, and the earliest tourism is expected to resume is mid-July.
“Tourism is an inseparable aspect of Israel’s economy, and an important one at that,” Katz said in a statement. “This step is another important step in recovering Israel’s economy.”
Lahav Harkov contributed to this report