Israeli Coronavirus Czar Professor Roni Gamzu announced Saturday evening that the start of the new school year this coming week will be a little different in “red zone” communities.
Schools in “red zone” communities will not reopen on Tuesday due to the high coronavirus infection rate; this past Friday, there were more than 2,000 new cases of COVID-19 diagnosed in Israel (2,068) – the highest daily number of infections recorded since March.
For children in those areas, classes will be taught entirely online, via Zoom.
For students living in “green zone” communities, (where the COVID-19 infection rate is relatively low) the school year will begin with most students attending class this coming Tuesday, September 1 – at least in the younger grades, up to grade four.
In the higher grades, attendance will depend on the number of students and the amount of space available in the school classrooms. Some of the classes will be taught in person, others will be taught online via Zoom.
Check with your local authorities to find out how your children are going to be learning this week — it’s a very fluid situation and local officials are the ones to make the final decision, together with the Health Ministry and the Ministry of Education.
