Israel may reopen some schools on Sunday, Gaza allows restaurants to reopen

Israel will begin a staggered reopening of schools next week if the latest health data does not warn of a heightened coronavirus risk, PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Monday. The country closed schools and kindergartens in mid-March, worsening an economic lockdown as parents were forced to stay at home. With unemployment peaking at 27 percent and contagion rates waning, Israel is now easing its curbs.

Netanyahu’s office said children in the first three years of primary school would resume studies, in reduced class sizes of no more than 15 pupils. Kindergartens and nurseries will reopen, with children allotted specific days rather than a full week of attendance, keeping them in small groups.

The measures are “the initial stage” of “a gradual reopening” of the educational system that would be reviewed on Friday. The country, with a population of nine million, has reported 15,466 coronavirus cases and 202 deaths, Reuters reports.

In Gaza, restaurants were set to be allowed to reopen from Monday, the economy ministry in the Hamas-run enclave announced, following pleas from restaurant owners to ease their economic suffering. Since the middle of March, the government has imposed strict measures, closing schools, universities, mosques and restaurants. Gaza has recorded 17 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, all Palestinians returning from outside the Gaza Strip.