Experts: “Determination that the start of the school year caused an...

Experts from the Hebrew University and Hadassah Medical Center call for the schools to be opened immediately: “The statement that the start of the school year caused an outbreak is fundamentally epidemiologically incorrect.”

According to the experts, the document published by senior Ministry of Health officials and presented yesterday (Wednesday) in the Cabinet as if children were an “engine of contagion” to Corona – presents incorrect facts and misinterpretations, ignoring the vital role of schools in children’s mental and physical development.

The experts further noted that the data presented in the report clearly demonstrate that children are less contagious, often more than adults and not the other way around, and constitute a small percentage of the super distributors in the population (4.9%). Despite this, the authors of the report chose to present “opposite conclusions.”

A document from the Ministry of Health claims that the opening of the school year on September 1 caused an increase in morbidity among children and adolescents. However, experts from Hebrew and Hadassah estimate that the infection occurred during the summer vacation at the end of August, claiming that the determination that the start of the school year caused the outbreak is “fundamentally epidemiologically incorrect. The book is because the entire population of Israel went into full closure the next day. “

Experts point out that the document does not separate the different age groups, and treats all children aged 17-0 as contagious and contagious, even though the transmission of the virus is markedly different at 9-0. Experts also claim that the data from the serological survey, which found a morbidity rate of 7% among children, can not be used as a basis for decision-making because the survey examined people who came to clinics for blood tests and does not represent the general population.

According to the experts, the Ministry of Health’s conclusions “are inconsistent with the data on which they are based, highlight the circumstances why children should not be returned to regular schooling and ignore the moral obligation to return them.” In society, as well as in the effect of closing the educational frameworks on the economic situation of the parents of the children and the state. “

Among the authors of the report: Dr. Alex Gills-Hillel, Prof. Amnon Lahad, Prof. Orly Manor, Prof. Ran Nir-Paz, Prof. Ronit Calderon-Margalit and their colleagues from Hadassah Hospital and the Hebrew University.

“Children up to the age of 10 are very contagious”

This morning, the Pediatric Association expressed support for a document compiled by Hebrew experts. According to the union’s leaders, Prof. Shai Ashkenazi and Prof. Tzachi Grossman, “The cumulative data allows for the immediate opening of grades one through four. Continued closure on children produces cumulative physical and mental damage, and we may see more and more sick children – rather than Corona. The decision to leave The primary schools are closed and the first and fourth children in the quarantine are incorrect. Children are suffering mental and physical damage. And more.

“As pediatricians, who are committed to protecting their health, we state: Children up to fourth grade – that is, up to the age of 10 – are very contagious and infectious. This is not true for children up to the age of 10 years. One should immediately run a capsule outline and study according to the rules, while wearing masks by the teachers. The children of Israel must not be imprisoned in their homes. It is in the minds of the children of Israel. “