Israel’s Coronavirus Cabinet voted Sunday night to approve the reopening of elementary schools starting next week.
Under the plan accepted by the Coronavirus Cabinet, grades one through four will resume their studies starting next Sunday, November 1st.
Grades one and two will each be split into two groups, each of which will have classes half the week.
For grades three and four, classes will be held all week, with the grades subdivided into smaller capsules of students.
During the meeting, which lasted some five hours, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu called for the government to significantly increase the fines on violators of coronavirus regulations.
“I believe that we need to increase the fines and to take determined action against anyone who violates the regulations, whether it is with weddings, [educational] institutions, or various events at any other locations where mass infections can be caused.”
Coronavirus Czar Ronni Gamzu called for a comprehensive lockdown and curfew to be imposed on the Druze-majority town of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights, citing the town’s high infection rate.
“We’re putting together a recommendation for a general closure, including sealing off Majdal Shams.”