Israel has gone from being a model of Covid-19 containment in March to suffering one of the world’s highest per-capita rates of new infections. One explanation -- especially relevant as the academic year dawns -- is that it may have reopened schools too quickly and imprudently.
Experts are divided on the role schools played in the resurgence. But they have advice for the U.S. and others: promote testing and contact tracing, use a hybrid of digital and in-person learning, use local solutions such as holding outdoor classes where possible -- and don’t do it the way Israel did the first time.
“There are many things that should have been done and none of this was done,” said Eli Waxman, a physicist who leads the team advising Israel’s national security council on its response to the coronavirus.
Waxman said he recommended protocols like placing separators between desks and sending students on school buses in small groups, but little of that happened and it didn’t take long before students and teachers got sick and many schools were once again closed.
When Israeli schools reopen again in September, there will be a new plan, the education ministry says. Only pupils in kindergarten through second grade, who are considered the least susceptible to infection, will have regular-sized classes of about 30 every day.
Third and fourth graders will have classes capped at 18 pupils who will remain together in class and during breaks to reduce the risk of spread to others. Older students will also have the smaller-sized groups but learn mostly remotely, coming to school about twice a week.
Some 13,000 new teachers will be hired to enable the smaller class sizes, buildings near schools may be used for extra space, and officials will mandate rules including desks be spaced 2 meters apart and masks worn for older children.
Reopening schools is obviously crucial to student development but equally vital to economic recovery, since when children are stuck at home parents are stymied from working.
In examining what caused the severe second wave in the spring, one study from Israel’s Health Ministry showed educational institutions were the top location for spreading infections outside the home, accounting for about 10% of tracked cases.
At the same time, with the country mired in economic crisis and joblessness above 21%, an analysis by the Bank of Israel found school closures cost 2.6 billion shekels ($763 million) per week, since 400,000 households had an employed parent who had to stay home with kids.