Dozens of high school students said infected after attending parties

Dozens of students from a Ra’anana high school have tested positive for the coronavirus after holding prom parties, according to Hebrew media reports.

At least 34 students at the Metro High School contracted the virus, according to a local activist. The infections occurred after they attended private end-of-school parties meant to replace school functions, Army Radio reports.

A student at the city’s Ostrovsky High School has also tested positive, according to reports, and hundreds of students are being sent into quarantine.

The city has asked the Health Ministry to test all the students who were at the parties, but the ministry refused on the grounds that the events were non-school activities, Channel 12 reports. The city is now appealing to HMOs to carry out the tests, according to the report.

“Because of these youths’ irresponsibility and these events held against guidelines, we now have carriers endangering the whole area. Where are these kids parents?” the channel quotes a health fund source complaining.

According to Health Ministry figures, Ra’anana has seen 84 new infections in the past week.