Israel to end quarantine for students with twice a week testing
'When we say living next to Covid, this means also studying next to Covid'
Israel plans to implement two tests a week for children in the education system, ending quarantine for students exposed to a Covid carrier, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced during a speech on Thursday with Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz and Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton.
"The children of Israel will return to studying. Starting next Thursday, we will start Operation 'Testing and Learning.'" Bennett stated.
All students up to the age of 18 will perform two weeks a week at home, one on Sunday morning and one on Wednesday morning before going to school. If the child is negative, they can head to school as normal. If they test positive, they must be tested at a supervised test station and undergo quarantine for five days.
These at-home tests will be distributed to all students free of charge.
Bennett called on parents to follow the new testing procedures and to refrain from sending the children to school if they show symptoms or test positive.
Following Bennett's speech, Horowitz reiterated the government's strategy of balancing public health, economy, and democracy.
"We chose the complicated but right way - without lockdowns... The easiest thing would have been to close everything down and send masses to unemployment, send all the students home, but when we say living next to Covid, this means also studying next to Covid."
Shasha-Biton stated that ending quarantine for students was the right thing to do for students and teachers, mentioning the mental health toll that isolation takes.
"Every child that comes to school is a child that we're saving."