Blood tests for antibodies rolled out for start of academic year; program starts in ultra-Orthodox community which was hit hard by the pandemic and already returned to school

Under framework, students with a classmate who tests positive will be allowed to stay in school as long as they test negative every day for a week

Since being shown positive for antibodies can grant unvaccinated people a Green Pass, health providers have struggled to accommodate increased demand

Infectious disease chief advising Health Ministry warns against using serology tests in rollout of 'green passport,' since body fights reinfection even after antibodies fade

While one expert says degree of protection is in the works, researcher behind the survey says talk of local immunity is ‘dangerous’

Initial results of serology tests on 70,000 Israelis show between 1% and 8% have been infected; rate much higher in known hotspots like Jerusalem, Bnei Brak than in rest of country

Blood samples from some 70,000 people to be checked during initial phase of survey aimed at determining extent of population's exposure to COVID-19