Israel Teachers' Union calls for closing all schools as coronavirus spreads

Israel Teachers' Union on Thursday called on the government to immediately close all schools and kindergartens amid the spread of COVID-19.

In a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the union's chairwoman Yaffa Ben-David noted that China, which has closed all systems including educational institutions, has been able to control and reduce the number of patients.

"Israel is a highly crowded country. The number of the infected has jumped, so students and teaching staff should not be abandoned," she said.

"This is a serious and immediate danger. The students and teaching staff will bring the disease home and infect their family members," the chairwoman added.

The union also announced that it will back up teachers who choose not to come to work because of the epidemic situation.