Education Minister Rafi Peretz at the opening of the government meeting addressed the coronavirus outbreak.
"Our preparations prevented the spread of the coronavirus more rapidly. The Education Ministry is preparing for every scenario and is taking action in accordance with Health Ministry instructions. In Italy, schools and universities have closed down. We monitor every student who is in isolation, the Ministry accompanies the students who are in isolation with long-distance learning and staff support. We all pray and hope that soon everything will be behind us, so it's important to take all precautions."
The Minister stressed that education cancellation directives will only be issued by the Education Ministry: "I hear that on Whatsapp and social networks there are false rumors about what will happen after Purim. There's a qualified authority in the education system and that's me and the Education Ministry spokesmen, in full coordination with the Health Ministry. I ask that information go through this channel only and not another way."