Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, a leading haredi rabbi, on Thursday night instructed that yeshiva students remain in yeshiva until the holidays, Kikar Hashabbat reported.
The instruction came after several yeshiva deans expressed concern that Rabbi Kanievsky's previous instruction not to test yeshiva students would lead to the students infecting others, including older people, if they left the yeshiva campus.
The parents as well had said that they were questioning bringing their sons home, since they contracted coronavirus or were sent into quarantine.
Following these developments, Rabbi Kanievsky said, "Out of concern of infecting those at risk, and out of concerns over placing lives at risk, the students should be instructed to remain in their yeshivas' compounds until after Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement). Otherwise, it may harm others."
Earlier this week, Rabbi Kanievsky urged that students in post-high school yeshivas not test for coronavirus, so as not to disrupt their Torah study. This decision, it was clarified, does not apply to younger yeshiva students, who return home and mingle with the greater community.