Israel’s schoolchildren began their school year on Tuesday morning with great excitement but the day didn’t last long for one school in Jerusalem, Yisrael Hayom reported.

State-religious girls’ school Bnos Yerushalayim, located in south Jerusalem and home to 300 students, was closed after one of the teachers tested positive for the coronavirus on the first day of school.

“My daughter spent two and a half hours in first grade and then they sent her home,” one mother said. “It’s unbelievable. She returned home and said: ‘Ima, it’s still morning.”

“Teachers’ conferences were held last week and one of the teachers was positive for the coronavirus but wasn’t aware of it. Today she received a positive result and all the school’s staff members had to enter quarantine.”

The mother added that she hopes that the school can recruit temporary staff members because meanwhile, she can’t go back to work. “My daughter was upset but she’ll be fine. We’re the ones that took it really hard.”

“It’s true that this happened on the first day of school but this is our new routine. In the winter it will probably be catastrophic.”

The Jerusalem municipality told Yisrael Hayom: “The teacher didn’t feel well on Shabbat, was tested on Sunday and received a positive answer. She wasn’t in school this morning but the school was closed because all the staff was exposed to her during preparatory meetings last week and they are required to quarantine. They are prepared for online learning like all schools in the city.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)