Some schools in some infection-free towns to reopen on Thursday

A complicated model was approved by the coronavirus cabinet to allow kindergartens and 1-4 grade classes to reopen for lessons on Thursday in “green” and “yellow” towns under health restrictions. The 5-10 grade pupils, who have been confined to home for nearly a year, overlooked even when previous lockdowns were eased, will have to wait another two weeks for government guidelines before returning to school. One of the problems delaying the reactivation of the schools is the refusal of a group of teachers to receive covid vaccinations.

Some of the ultra-Orthodox schools, many of them concentrated in high-infection towns and districts, are not waiting for a government decision. At least one prominent rabbi has determined that all schools must re-open or all stay closed. Some this community’s schools are conducting lessons in the open air with students sitting well apart and receiving instruction from their teacher by cellphone.