P.M Naftali Bennett approved the outline for the opening of the school year September 1st

After lengthy discussions in the government, Naftali Bennett this evening (Sunday) approved the outline prepared by the Ministries of Health and Education for September 1.
According to the outline, which still needs to get the corona cabinet approval and will only apply if there is no closure, classes will open as usual from kindergartens to twelfth grades, under six "layers" of protective actions, including serological tests starting later this week, speed tests to be provided to parents, tests Initiated in schools in orange and red localities, observance of the rules of the corona - and a special model for classes in which it will be verified that its pilot will begin tomorrow in the ultra-Orthodox schools that open the school year.
In accordance with the outline that has been formulated, from this week until the return of students to kindergartens and schools, 1.6 million children, from kindergartens to sixth grades, will be invited to perform serological tests. Parents will receive a summons to come with their children to the health funds or to public centers that will be set up to perform the test. The Ministry of Education estimates that between 20% and 30% will recover, including children who were asymptomatic, and they will be exempt from isolation even if they are exposed to verified patients.
The state will also provide speed tests for parents, who will need to check on their children 48 hours before the start of the school year. In case one of the students in the class gets a positive answer to Corona, students will have to be tested every day for a week to avoid isolation. Students who do not want to be tested - will go into solitary confinement as was customary until now. However, this is a pilot that will begin in the ultra-Orthodox schools tomorrow, and in September will also expand to Arab localities - and only then will decisions be made about the general sector. In localities that will be defined as orange and red, initiated tests will be performed to detect disease early with a frequency of once a week.
In parallel with the national vaccination campaign, the ministry emphasizes that the actions that will be taken are alongside maintaining corona rules, including wearing a mask, maintaining social distance, maintaining hygiene, learning in open spaces and continuing to monitor morbidity throughout the education system.
The Prime Minister's Office noted that Bennett praised Horowitz and Shasha-Bitton for their cooperation in building the outline, and that the Minister of Education added that ". Shasha Bitton noted that "in the last year and a half, children have paid a heavy price due to social isolation and loneliness as well as the loss of many school days. We have a moral and educational duty to create certainty and stability for their personal and mental resilience and educational staff."
Starting tomorrow, a pilot of the Sheba model will take place with the opening of the school year in the ultra-Orthodox society. A similar pilot will be held in Arab society in September, and after returning from the Tishrei holiday, it will be held in the general education system until mid-October. 250,000 boys in the ultra-Orthodox society are already starting the school year, and they will be the first to undergo a serological examination as part of a "green class" model pilot.
The Ministries of Defense and Foreign Affairs completed over the weekend a flash purchase of serological tests that are expected to arrive in the next day. The director general of the Ministry of Education, Slovik, said that the serological tests would be performed through external providers and the students would be summoned to centers to be determined in each authority in order to locate the sick and recovering students.
"We estimate that about 320,000 will be exempt from isolation, so children will feel safer," Slovic said. "Regarding the self-tests at home, the children will receive a summons from the health funds or will be referred to their personal website where they will receive a voucher for antigen kits that they can buy from the pharmacy. We are preparing to close the final details."
Simultaneously with the approval of the education outline, Prime Minister Bennett decided today to establish a team of six ministers and ministers from various parties, whose role will be to promote joint thinking on increasing information about the state of the corona crisis in Israel, and to make vaccines accessible. The team will be headed by Diaspora Minister Nachman Shai, who served as the IDF's spokesman during the Gulf War and was even called the "National Sedative."
Recently, there have been many calls from various sources calling for Shai to be involved in the government's efforts to explain the corona, and due to his experience in crisis situations, he has been expected to take the reins.
Now, the work outline of the team and the powers it will receive are formulated. The aim of the team will be to "sort out the information" mess, to be another bridge to the public in terms of explaining the policy - and also to encourage vaccines.
The team, as mentioned, will consist of six ministers and ministers who cater to different sectors and publics of all ages. Everyone has access to the public and information in the field and together they will think about how to streamline access to information from the government and the cabinet. However, they will not be the ones to set restrictions or closure.