Prime Minister Naftali Bennett refuses to commit to opening schools nationwide on September 1 as scheduled, as COVID-19 cases continue to rise.
“That decision we will make in the next week, according to the situation with the pandemic,” Bennett tells a reporter from Channel 13 news when asked about the slated start of schools.
Yesterday, the government approved a plan for high-contagion areas that will see classrooms with low levels of vaccinated students switch to online remote learning.
Under the rules of the new plan, only classrooms in which more than 70 percent of students are either vaccinated, recovered, or pass a positive serological test for antibodies will be allowed to meet in person.
Classrooms that fall below that level will be required to switch to home learning.
More than 8,700 Israelis tested positive for COVID yesterday, a figure not seen in Israel since early February. There are currently 946 Israelis hospitalized with COVID, 579 in serious condition, and 97 on ventilators.
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From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, August 17, 2021
