Israeli schoolchildren returned to school on Wednesday with mask requirements and mandatory COVID-19 testing aimed at stemming a surge in coronavirus cases that has overshadowed the highly-vaccinated country's reopening.
Education Ministry Director General Yigal Slovik said around 2.4 million children went back to school, while some 250,000 students were currently in mandatory quarantine after coming into contact with verified patients.
"We must get used to living this way this year. The numbers will only go up but most students will continue to learn in person next to their friends, with teachers. 90% of students are in school," he said.
4 View gallery
President Isaac Herzog joins a first grade class at a Modiin school on the first day of the school year
(Photo: Roi Rubinstein)
Health officials worry the launch of a new school year - with most students attending in-person - will exacerbate the current wave ahead of this month's Jewish holiday season, potentially forcing another national lockdown.
New infections have soared since the emergence of the Delta variant, reaching a pandemic-high 10,947 on Tuesday among Israel's 9.3 million population.
Under what he calls a "living with COVID" policy, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has pressed ahead with the new school year, in part by ramping up vaccine booster shots and requiring testing for students and unvaccinated instructors.
Visiting a school in Israel's Negev desert, Bennett said the testing effort - some 2 million tests were conducted - was the largest in Israel's history. "After a year of Zooming, a difficult year of fading and staring in front of the screens, I want to wish you, the students of Israel, this one thing: May the year of screens be done away, and a year of experiences begin," Bennett said.
But Bennett's government announced the new measures just days before classes resumed, drawing criticism from parents who say they were given little time to prepare.
Gal Altberg said she was excited to send her children, in 1st and 3rd grade, back to school but worried there might still be a lockdown amid the rise in infections. "The policy is still up in the air, the government changes things around but we are hoping for (the best), and we are hoping that the vaccinations will help," Altberg, 41, said.
Students under 12 - the minimum age of eligibility for the vaccine - must present their teachers with a parent's note confirming they performed a rapid test at home and received a negative result.
Such testing is not required beyond the first day. But officials say further testing could be done before or after the Jewish holidays, where large family gatherings are common. The first of those festivals is on Sept. 6 and the last on Sept. 30.
In areas with particularly high infection, schools where less than 70% of students are vaccinated are required to conduct remote learning. Around 10% of Israeli students will attend school online on Wednesday.
4 View gallery
Education Minister Yifat Shasha Biton visits a school in Yeruham
(Photo: Haim Horenshtein)
Grades 1-4 and kindergartens will study in person as usual. If a student is found positive for COVID - the students in the infected child’s class will switch to remote studies until the end of the isolation period due to the ineligibility of those under the age 12 to receive the vaccine against the pathogen.
Grades 5-7 will switch to a learning program that facilitates "reduced contact" between students. It includes studying in open spaces, distance learning and in-person studies in small groups. If someone is found positive for COVID, the students in the infected individual's class will move to remote studies until the isolation period ends.
Grades 8-12 will study in person as usual. If a student is found positive for COVID, the students in the infected child’s class will move to remote studies until the end of the isolation period. In "red" communities with high coronavirus infection rate, however, children in grades 8-12 will be forced to study remotely unless at least 70% of the students are vaccinated or have recovered from COVID.
Students in grades 8-12 who have been fully inoculated and therefore possess a Green Pass will be exempt from isolation in case of exposure to a verified patient.
On the first day of school, in order to reduce the risk of infection, parents are asked to submit a statement stating that their child has been tested and found negative for COVID.
Students up to the age of 12 will need to present a parental statement that states that their child had undergone an antigen test that returned negative.
According to the Compulsory Education Act, students who did not undergo COVID testing will still be able to attend school.
As per the Education Ministry’s decision, students aged 12 and up who have parental approval can get inoculated against COVID during school hours.
Students who received only the first jab of the vaccine will be considered “immunized” by schools until September 30, after which two jabs will be needed to be considered fully vaccinated.
Teaching staff, meanwhile, will need to have to present a Green Pass in order to teach in person. Staff members who did not get inoculated will have to present a negative COVID test once every two weeks.
Unvaccinated teachers who are not willing to get tested for COVID will be prohibited from entering kindergartens and schools.
In order to reduce the chance of an outbreak in schools, students and staffers will have to adhere to the COVID restrictions, which include wearing a mask in class in all grades, social distancing, keeping the classroom well ventilated, maintaining hygiene and studying in open spaces.
The “Green Class” pilot - according to which a student who is found positive for COVID will go into isolation, while the rest of his or her class continue to study as usual while undergoing daily COVID tests for a week - is expected to run from September 29 to October 15.