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After a chaotic partial restart on Sunday of the education system due to a complete closure due to the coronavirus outbreak, dozens of municipalities that had refused the call to open their schools for some grades agreed to comply in the next two days.
Elementary schools were given the green light to bring back students from first to third grade, as Israel has gradually sought to return to a more normal routine with the virus apparently under control.
However, some 35 cities and local authorities chose to delay the return to classrooms due to their dissatisfaction with the handling of the matter by the government, which has seen unclear rules and unanswered questions on technical aspects of opening schools. .
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Although the first day of return was optional, the Ministry of Education said that municipalities must reopen schools before Tuesday. While some local authorities said they would resume studies on Monday or Tuesday, others did not make such promises.
Dozens of those detained, including Tel Aviv, Ashkelon, Rosh Ha’Ayin, Misgav and Emek Hefer, said they will open their schools on Monday, one day late.
Haifa, Ramat Hasharon and Hadera will open schools on Tuesday.
Ramat Gan, Beersheba, Safed and Carmiel were expected to open schools no later than next week, Channel 12 reported.
A school staff member waits for students to provide them with protective face masks and asks them to sign a health form upon arrival at school as they return to school for the first time since the coronavirus outbreak on 3 May 2020. (Olivier Fitoussi / Flash90)
Of the 300,000 students who were supposed to return on Sunday, 180,000, about 60 percent, actually showed up at some 1,500 schools, according to the Ministry of Education. Many parents chose to keep their children at home, rather than risk getting infections by sending them back, and some school bus services still don’t work, both factors that reduced the numbers.
In schools, students were divided into groups, each of which, according to the guidelines of the Ministry of Education, had to stay together during all classes and breaks. Each group should have dedicated bathrooms as well.
Much of the first days of return was spent reviewing the rules of hygiene and social distancing.
Education Minister Rafi Peretz told Channel 12 in an interview that despite difficulties and low numbers, there were reasons to celebrate.
“We are slowly returning to normal,” he said.
Peretz emphasized that although elementary schools reopened, participation was voluntary for both municipalities and parents on Sunday.
While day-care centers, day-care centers and kindergartens are still closed, Peretz said more information from the investigation into infection rates among young children will be provided Tuesday, and that it will influence a final decision on whether those institutions will open. or not at the beginning of next week.
Over the course of May, studies will gradually resume for all grades, Peretz said, but schools are likely to have to rotate attendance as they don’t have enough classroom space for all students to maintain social distancing from Same time.
Education Minister Rafi Peretz speaks during a press conference at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem on March 12, 2020. (Olivier Fitoussi / Flash90)
No further steps will be taken to restore the education system for at least two weeks, giving the authorities time to assess any consequences of the measures taken so far, he explained.
Many local leaders have criticized the last-minute decision to open schools, which was only made on Friday, saying it did not allow them to safely reopen in time, while criticizing the lack of clear guidelines even on Saturday night.
The guidelines from the Ministries of Education and Health that were to be published on Saturday night were still missing by 7 am on Sunday, about an hour before the first bell rang, marking a process that has been harassed by charges of taking chaotic and hasty decisions.
Although the kindergartens had also been scheduled to open on Sunday, ministers decided on Friday to delay the move, after the Ministry of Health expressed concern about the ability of young children to maintain necessary standards of hygiene and social distancing. . An Israeli study supporting the decision found that while younger children were less likely than adults to contract the virus or transmit it, there was still a chance that they could infect others.
Israel’s schools were among the first institutions to close in mid-March, a move that was quickly followed by stricter measures that brought the economy to a virtual standstill and forced many to remain at home as the country sought to avoid a big COVID outbreak. -19.
In recent weeks, the Israeli government approved the lifting of some restrictions, opening many stores and allowing people to gather to pray or leave home to exercise. The movements occurred as the number of new daily infections decreased, as did the number of severe cases. As of Sunday, 16,193 people had been diagnosed with the coronavirus in Israel and 231 had died. Some 9,600, more than half of those diagnosed, have recovered.
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