Ministers unveil plan to reduce quarantine for schoolchildren

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett says that starting in a week, schoolchildren will no longer have to automatically enter mandatory quarantine if exposed to a coronavirus carrier.

“Israeli children are returning to study continuously,” he says in televised remarks.

Under the new plan, Bennett says all students 18 and younger will be tested twice a week, on Sundays and Wednesdays. Anyone who tests negative can go to school, while students with a positive test will remain at home until they recover.

The testing will be done at home, with Bennett announcing that “millions” of test kits will be given out to parents.

He also says the Omicron variant of coronavirus is “less violent” than other strains and predicts the current outbreak “will end relatively quicker than previous waves.”