Ex-government adviser: Most schools should stay closed unless there’s a big virus drop

Most schools should stay shut after the summer vacation unless coronavirus infections are radically reduced, a former government adviser says, also warning that the virus fight will “continue to fail” if it isn’t taken out of Health Ministry hands.

“If we don’t get the numbers down to tens we should not open the schools because the risk would be too high,” says Eli Waxman, former chairman of the National Security Council’s Expert Advisers’ Committee on Combating the Pandemic.

He adds: “If the prevalence remains as high as it is today — over 1,000 new infected daily — opening schools fully may have the effect of a renewed growth that will get us to 2,000, which will endanger the health care system.

“Under such conditions, we would recommend opening up only lower grades, up to third, and special needs classes.”

He says that Israel is currently on a bleak trajectory, and it is already “unavoidable” that there will be 500 patients in intensive care.

Waxman has no faith in the Health Ministry to lead the virus fight. “Leaving the management as it is to the Health Ministry will just ensure that we will continue to fail,” says Waxman, a top physicist at the Weizmann Institute of Science.

He expresses concern that if the Health Ministry remains the country’s lead player on coronavirus, even if case numbers are driven down, it will fail to take an essential step for preventing a resurgence.

Before leaving his advisory post in May, Waxman argued to authorities that success hinged on establishing an emergency control center that brings together various state players under the leadership of former military brass, and dilutes the role of the Health Ministry. He believes that this has now become urgent.

“The structure of the Health Ministry is not suited for this,” he says. “And the people that manage the Health Ministry don’t have the capabilities and they don’t have any relevant experience for managing this crisis.”

— Nathan Jeffay