Netanyahu determines to keep schools open as COVID-19 infections spike

Abbas extends state of emergency as coronavirus cases rise

By MAAYAN JAFFE-HOFFMAN, KHALED ABU TOAMEH
Jerusalem municipality workers exit a city school following disinfection. June 3, 2020. (photo credit: COURTESY JERUSALEM MUNICIPALITY)
Jerusalem municipality workers exit a city school following disinfection. June 3, 2020.
(photo credit: COURTESY JERUSALEM MUNICIPALITY)
Any educational institution that finds someone infected with the coronavirus will be instantly closed, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday.
Education Minister Yoav Gallant had already earlier this week ordered the closure of educational institutions in which coronavirus patients were discovered, on the backdrop of a noteworthy increase in the number of infections in schools.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu instructed the minister of education to continue to work on protection and remediation solutions for students and teaching staff,” a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office read, following a meeting with Gallant and National Security Council head Meir Ben Shabat.
Health Minister Yuli Edelstein had been pushing to close all middle and high schools in Jerusalem.
Meanwhile, coronavirus cases continue to surge across the country, especially plaguing Israel’s schools.
According to the updated data by the Education Ministry, around 3,000 more students and teachers went into isolation Wednesday – from 4,925 to 7,898.
Moreover, 261 students and teachers are sick with coronavirus and there are now 51 schools closed.
But during a press briefing, Gallant said that “even if we reach dozens of schools, it is still only 1% of the education system.”
Chairman of the Teachers’ Union, Yaffa Ben-David, appealed to the prime minister on Wednesday, asking that preschools through grades 1-3 return to a capsule system and that grades 4-9 be allowed to integrate distance learning. She said this would help prevent unnecessary risk for teaching staff who come in contact with hundreds of students.
The educational institution that has the largest number of patients, Gymnasia Rehavia in Jerusalem, was disinfected Wednesday.
Among the cities whose schools were shuttered on Sunday due to the novel virus: Bat Yam, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Hadera.
Southern Israel, however, has seen a specifically large spike, with more than 20 new patients, and schools closed in Beersheba,
Ashkelon and the surrounding area.
At the conclusion of a court case at Beersheba’s Magistrate’s Court, the accused showed symptoms of the disease and was tested. He was found positive, sending 10 lawyers and a judge into isolation.
“In recent days, we have seen a significant increase in the number of patients with coronavirus,” said Dr. Dan Schwarzkopf, deputy director of Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba.
The hospital said that there are currently six patients hospitalized in the coronavirus ward – two in moderate condition and the rest with mild symptoms.
Also, at Beilinson Hospital, a mother who was found positive for the virus delivered a baby Tuesday night. The baby was transferred to Schneider Children’s Medical Center and tested negative. An epidemiological investigation was conducted to identify anyone who came in contact with the mother and they were asked to isolate. The hospital said that the mother is in good condition.
Moreover, Army Radio reported that some 18 schools in the Bedouin town of Hura are expected to remain closed after infection was found among them. The head of the municipality, Habas Alatuna, said that he recommends closing all the high schools because there are faculty that work at multiple institutions.
Hura has seen a general spike in infections in recent days. According to a report shared late Tuesday by the Health Ministry, 11 people have been diagnosed with coronavirus in the last three days – an increase of 7.1%.
Hura came into the spotlight during the previous round of coronavirus, as well. In early May, two neighborhoods in the Bedouin town were put under lockdown after it was found to have the highest increase of coronavirus infection in the country – increasing by 19.4% between May 2 and 5.
And in Eilat, a foreign worker in one of the hotels was diagnosed with coronavirus.
In total, 92 new patients were diagnosed with the novel virus in the last 24 hours. There are 2,103 active cases in the country, a number that continues to rise. However, the Health Ministry reported that it had already tested 7,217 people on Wednesday and that number was expected to reach as high as 13,000 by midnight, meaning that the percentage of people who tested positive out of the number of people tested has gone down to around 1.2%.
Meanwhile, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday extended the state of emergency in PA-controlled areas for another 30 days as part of an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Abbas’s decision came amid growing concern that the Palestinians may be facing another wave of infections with the disease.
Kamal al-Shakhra, a senior official with the PA Ministry of Health, warned that many Palestinians were flouting health regulations regarding the coronavirus. The disease could return in large numbers, he cautioned.
Shakhra said that despite the fears a special health committee has recommended that students be permitted to sit for the high school matriculation exams in areas where coronavirus cases were discovered.
PA Health Minister Mai al-Kaila announced that no new cases of coronavirus were detected in the West Bank in the past 24 hours. She said that the total number of Palestinians diagnosed with the virus was 94 – 23 in the Jerusalem area, 13 in Hebron, 16 in Kalkilya and 42 in the Gaza Strip.
The number of Palestinians who were diagnosed with the coronavirus since the beginning of March was 630, and 527 have reportedly recovered.
Abbas first announced the state of emergency in March. Since then, he has extended it each time for 30 days.
Recently, the PA government decided to ease restrictions imposed to stem the spread of the coronavirus.
Ibrahim Milhem, spokesman for the PA government, said that despite the extension of the state of emergency, the PA won’t reimpose a lockdown on Palestinian cities and villages. The decision to extend the state of emergency, he explained, was aimed to control areas where new infections have appeared.
In the Gaza Strip, the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health announced on Wednesday that five new cases of coronavirus were detected in the past 24 hours. The new infections were discovered among Palestinians who are in quarantine centers located in various parts of the coastal enclave, the ministry said.
The number of confirmed cases in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the crisis is 61, of which 18 have recovered.