COVID-19 cases, Jerusalem, February–June 2020 (n = 5,519)

Figure 2

Age distribution of COVID-19 cases, Israel, May 2020 (n = 18,448)
- Figure 3 shows a prominence of school-aged children in Jerusalem in comparison to the rest of the country

Figure 3

The school's outbreak resulted in an additional 87 confirmed COVID-19 cases among contacts of the students and staff. This outbreak resulted in an age distribution analysis before and after schools' reopening. The analysis found schoolchildren 10-19 years old composed 19.8% of cases during weeks 9-21, increasing to 40.9% in weeks 22-25.

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

The first case in the public school was identified on May 26, and the second on May 27. The two cases were not found to be epidemiologically linked and further testing of all students and staff found 153 students (attack rate 13.2%) and 25 staff (attack rate 16.6%) tested positive for COVID-19. The outbreak at the single school has been associated with a total of 265 COVID-19 cases including students, staff, friends, and relatives.

A large COVID-19 outbreak in a high school 10 days after schools’ reopening, Israel, May 2020

Stein-Zamir Chen , Abramson Nitza , Shoob Hanna , Libal Erez , Bitan Menachem , Cardash Tanya , Cayam Refael , Miskin Ian . A large COVID-19 outbreak in a high school 10 days after schools’ reopening, Israel, May 2020. Euro Surveill. 2020;25(29):pii=2001352. https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.25.29.2001352

- The school contains 1,190 students ages 12-18 and 162 staff members
- The school reopened on May 18 after being closed for 2 months
- From May 19-21, facemasks weren’t required due to a heatwave. The first two individuals to test positive had attended school May 19-21 and reported mild symptoms
- Following the first two cases, the district declared an outbreak, closed the school, and tested all staff and students for COVID-19 over the weekend

A large COVID-19 outbreak in a high school 10 days after schools’ reopening, Israel, May 2020: Outbreak description

Jerusalem COVID-19 Case Distribution by Age

The study authors highlight the need for intentional planning of COVID-19 prevention for the school year. They reference various COVID-19 prevention strategies for schools to effectively and safely reopen:
- Facemask usage, hand hygiene, physical distance
-  Studying in small classes
- Avoiding school if feeling ill
- Learning from home or having outside classes if possible
- Considerations for closed spaces with poor ventilation
- Identification of students and teachers are close contacts
- Considerations for bus transportation and extra-curricular activities

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