Schools will fully reopen within the coming month, so long as infection rates remain low, Israel Hayom reported, quoting coronavirus czar Professor Nachman Ash.
The next stage of school reopenings is scheduled to begin in one-and-a-half weeks, and will include the elimination of "capsules" for grades 4-6 - so long as eliminating capsules for grade 3 students does not lead to a rise in infections.
Eliminating capsules in grades 7-9 will be an option, but only in schools where 75% of the parents allow their children to participate in weekly coronavirus tests, as per the "Education Shield" plan. The Health Ministry is also weighing lowering the percentage of vaccinated students required for classes to operate as usual in grades 11-12 to 65%, instead of the current 90%.
In the last stage, which is expected to occur in approximately 3-4 weeks, grades 7-10 will be allowed to eliminate capsules, without testing regularly for coronavirus - so long as the Education Shield tests show that infection rates are low in that age group.
"We understand the need to open the educational system, and we understand that the infection situation is different, but on the other hand, we are doing this with great responsibility," Prof. Ash said.
"I estimate that we will need another 3-4 weeks in order to examine what the tests show. If most of them are normal, I assume that we will expand reopening the schools more, and estimate that within about another month we will have the educational system fully reopened."