The Director General of the Ministry of Health, Prof. Nachman Ash, and the Director General of the Ministry of Education, Yigal Slovik, agreed on Sunday night that children aged 3-12 who have recovered from COVID-19 during the past six months will not be required to perform an antigen 2 test as a condition of admission to their educational institution.
This coming Thursday, September 30, students are expected to return to schools subject to performing an antigen test and presenting a parental statement of a negative result.
The 50,000 students who will return to the after-school programs on Wednesday will also be required to undergo the test.
Earlier it was reported that over half a million parents had not yet arrived to pick up the test kits. Until Wednesday, Magen David Adom, together with the Ministries of Education and Health, will continue to distribute the kits in about 200 MDA rapid testing complexes across the country and in dozens of additional complexes.
The test will be performed by the parents at home independently on Wednesday, the day before their children return to school, immediately after the end of the Sukkot holiday. In accordance with the guidelines of the Ministry of Health, a student who is found positive in the rapid test will be required to undergo a PCR test at one the testing stations throughout the country.
In addition, MDA operates approximately 190 rapid test stations throughout the country. The rapid tests, intended for those who are not vaccinated or who have recovered, provide an answer within 15 minutes and allow the Ministry of Health to issue a green pass for 24 hours. Children between the ages of 3 and 12 are tested free of charge.