Tel Aviv (dpa) - With a new rise in corona infections, more and more schools in Israel have to close again. Almost 130 schools and kindergartens remained closed on Sunday, according to a message from the Ministry of Education. The Israeli working week starts on Sundays.
So far, the pathogen Sars-CoV-2 has been detected in 347 students and teachers, more than half of them in Jerusalem. Around 17,500 students and teachers are in quarantine at home. Graduation ceremonies at the end of the school year should only take place to a limited extent.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that his office had "increased significantly over the past eight days". Netanyahu said, "The virus is here." Other countries initially underestimated the risk of the corona pandemic and put restrictions in place after thousands of deaths, he said. On Monday, Israel's "Corona Cabinet" will discuss possible measures in the face of the new rise, affecting schools, public transportation, and other areas.
Following the infection of an Arab MP in the Israeli parliament, four other Knesset members had to go into home quarantines as a precaution on Saturday. The members of the United Arab List had been in contact with their party friend.
Israel reacted very quickly with rigorous measures at the start of the Corona wave, and the pandemic in the small Mediterranean country has so far been relatively mild. In the course of a gradual relaxation of the regulations, schools opened at the beginning of May.
According to the Ministry of Health, the pathogen Sars-CoV-2 has so far been detected in 17,752 people in Israel, 15,050 have recovered. 295 people are reported to have died from a coronavirus infection.