Minister Galant called for a full opening of the education system, but the Corona Cabinet approved a more gradual outline • The advisory team to the Ministry of Health recommended speeding up the pace
Learning in capsules in Mevaseret Zion
Photo:
Oren Ben Hakon
Israel has almost returned to full routine, and yet - the Corona cabinet ministers decided in a telephone poll to cancel the capsules in the education system only in fourth grades, after they had already been eliminated in grades 1-3.
It was also determined that the rate of vaccinated and recovering required for full learning in grades 11-12 will be 65% instead of 90%.
The decisions are valid until Tuesday, when the government will discuss the issue at length.
This outline is underway alongside the approval of additional facilitations, allowing for more mass gatherings, especially in open areas.
In light of this, the education system seems to have been left behind, with only a limited opening.
This is despite the fact that most of the experts on the epidemic treatment team supported a faster opening.
The education system returns in full format // Photo: Paz Bar
In the epidemic team discussion earlier this week, 59% supported the abolition of the capsule method, and 70% thought that the entire education system should be opened to regular face-to-face studies.
The epidemic treatment team is the professional body that advises the Ministry of Health, and the corona commissioner Prof. Nachman Ash and the head of the public health services, Dr. Sharon Elrai-Price, were also present at the hearing. Relatively fast. "
"No material harm to children"
"In the field - everything is open, and it would not be appropriate for only the children not to return to school. I am in favor of returning to school, and not in capsules," said Prof. Galia Rahav, director of the infectious diseases unit in Tel Hashomer.
Prof. Oren is a vegetarian, director of the Infectious Diseases Unit at Kaplan: "Not to open at once, but it is very important to open. Morbidity in the education system reflects what is happening in the population, and is not itself an engine of infection in the general population."
Dr. Tal Brosh, director of the Infection Prevention Unit at Assuta Ashdod, supports returning to classrooms: “Hospitalization of school students is very rare.
I personally do not know Long COVID in children.
The vast majority recover without post-corona symptoms.
All the measures taken in the education system were to reduce morbidity in the population, and especially in the elderly.
The numbers are dropping and stabilizing at 15-5 new serious patients a day. "
Dr. Michal Stein, an expert in infectious diseases in children from Hillel Yaffe Medical Center, emphasized in the discussion that "most infections are formed from adults and not from friends, so if the educational staff and parents are vaccinated - the capsules can be stopped."
"Minimum risk"
The approved outline states that in grades 7-10, it will be possible for students to move between four capsules, instead of between two as is the practice today.
Also, if after ten days it turns out that the cancellation of the capsules did not lead to an increase in morbidity - the capsules in grades 5-6 are also expected to be eliminated.
"Education is the most important thing, and we make every effort to open up the maximum possible to the minimum risk to students," Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said.
The director general of the Ministry of Health, Prof. Hezi Levy, stated that "we prefer to take the cautious path and see what the opening has caused."
On the other hand, the Ministry of Education called for the opening of all study frameworks without division into capsules, for all age groups.
"Enough of the divided classes - the time has come to open up the education system in full," Education Minister Yoav Galant tweeted yesterday, before the cabinet's decision.
He said, "The emotional, educational and social risk is now tens of times higher than the health risk."
Ariel Kahana participated in the preparation of the article.