Summer schools and camps will continue until at least mid-week, it seems, after the government ended Thursday's late-night coronavirus meeting without resolution about how to handle them.
A message from the Prime Minister’s Office early Friday explained that, “decisions about camps and other educational programs will be determined in the coming days by the prime minister and alternate prime minister, in consultation with the finance, health and education ministers.”
The intention is to examine where there is a realistic possibility of studying in capsules under the directives of the Health Ministry. If not, then the goal will be to keep schools open for another week to allow parents to better prepare for the situation and thereby minimize negative impact on the students, parents and economy.
Education Minister Yoav Gallant argued Thursday that out of 700,000 students, 895 have coronavirus, the Education Ministry reported – a tenth of a percent.
Gallant charged that the Health Ministry does not make data-driven decisions but rather “intuitive choices without the facts. I am opposed to closing the camps.”
The Finance Ministry said that every day in which the camps are closed stands to cost the country NIS 300 million.
One Friday, the director-general of the Rashi Foundation NGO warned that closing the education system could lead to fatal damage to the weaker sectors of society and force hundreds or even thousands of parents to join the cycle of unemployment.
"There is no health and economic logic in closing the education system,” said Rashi director-general Michal Cohen, who served as a former director-general of the Education Ministry. “The data show that infection in schools is very low and the economic price that the weaker classes will absorb as a result of closing the system is unbearable.”
The government passed a set of directives aimed at stopping the spread of the infection as record numbers of people have been diagnosed with the novel virus in recent days.
Among the new restrictions are closing gyms and studios used for sports or dance activities and reverting to restaurants being for takeaway and delivery only.