Coronavirus czar Prof. Nachman Ash told Ynet on Tuesday morning that any delay in implementing a strict lockdown will result in a loss of lives.

For now, he recommended that parents living in high infection areas should keep their children home. “A child who brings the disease home infects others,” he said. “We have seen quite a few such cases in recent days.”

Yamina leader Naftali Bennett also recommended that parents keep their children home from school, saying that he kept his children at home on Tuesday for the first time.

Former Health Ministry Director-General Moshe Bar Siman-Tov already kept his children home on Sunday. “Many friends have been asking me what to do about school,” Bar Siman-Tov wrote on Twitter on Sunday. “Today, we didn’t send the children to their schools although they’re open due to the very significant rise in morbidity in Israel in general and in Jerusalem specifically. I think that infections are spreading at the fastest rate since the pandemic began.”

According to official data cited by Yediot Achronot, 42% of Israel’s infections are among school-age children and teachers.

Dr. Efrat Aflalo of Israel’s Education Ministry said on Monday at a meeting of the Knesset’s Education Committee that the school system must be closed.

“There is a high morbidity rate and outbreaks in schools, ganim, high schools, and military academies in every location and every sector,” she said.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)