Hundreds of thousands of Israeli children returned to day-care centers, nursery schools and kindergartens on Sunday morning, after a two-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 crisis.
Those in the under-3 age category returned full-time, while 3- to 6-year-olds began a rotation of three-day shifts. The latter enables the schools to meet Health Ministry regulations, which prohibit “capsules” of more than 18 children from attending the same framework simultaneously, and more than nine occupying the same space within the classroom.
Teachers interviewed on Saturday night by Israeli TV channels illustrated the way in which they were preparing their classrooms to accommodate the coronavirus restrictions: marking floors with masking tape and color-coding bathrooms to adhere to social-distancing and hygiene rules.
The decision to reopen the move comes a week after grades one through three resumed classroom activity, and three days after the country’s malls and outdoor markets reopened.
Education Ministry director-general Shmuel Abuav told Channel 13 on Saturday night that if the move does not lead to an increase in coronavirus infection rates, the rest of the school system will resume operating next week.
As of Sunday morning, some 4,800 Israelis were listed as having been diagnosed with COVID-19, and the country’s death toll from the virus had reached 247.
