The number of new coronavirus cases from the Hebrew Gymnasium school in the Rechavia neighborhood of Jerusalem has risen to almost 200 and according to the education ministry, the majority of new coronavirus cases  – about 75% of the students and school staff – stem from the Hebrew Gymnasium school.

The 1,400 students and staff members of the school have all been instructed to enter quarantine. Unfortunately, two staff members of the schools who contracted the virus developed serious symptoms and were hospitalized at Sha’are Tzedek Hospital in Jerusalem. Also, three parents of students contracted the virus as well as a grandparent of one of the students, who was hospitalized,

According to a Jerusalem Post report, parents of students at the school as well as some of the students themselves are furious at the conduct of the students and the school administration, saying that health ministry regulations have been ignored.

One student wrote on Facebook that students gathered at the entrance to the schools, the teachers didn’t wear masks and social distancing regulations were not enforced in classrooms. Furthermore, even after a few students were initially diagnosed with the virus, the school remained open and according to the student, the school told the students that there was no need to quarantine.

Another student, a 12th grader at the school, told Channel 12 News that the students shouldn’t blame the administration since they chose to ignore the rules themselves, saying that students hugged each other in greeting and failed to wear masks during breaks, adding that the outbreak could have happened in many places due to the “feeling of euphoria” and “indifference” of the public.

Recent photos in the media of crowded malls, beaches and restaurants attest to the veracity of the student’s comments, with Israelis apparently feeling that “the coronavirus is gone” and any danger has passed.

“This is due to the general loosening in the country regarding the guidelines,” another 12th grader from the school told Channel 12. “People aren’t keeping social distancing rules and aren’t being strict about masks and as a result [they also aren’t doing so] at school,” adding that students of the school have been meeting at restaurants and parties.

“I think that after the first student was found with the coronavirus, the school should have automatically closed and not returned to studies on Thursday, although I think that the big outbreak had already begun a few days earlier,” the student added.

A parent of a student at the school told Channel 12 that “as time passes we understand the extent of the harm we caused to others without knowing.”

New cases of the virus were reported on Sunday in Cholon, Bnei Brak, Telzstone and Jerusalem.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)