Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Thursday that Israel will close schools and universities as part of measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

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He said the decision doesn’t include kindergartens, special education and boarding schools, adding that a decision would be made for those institutions shortly.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a press conference on Thursday ( Photo: Moshe Mizrahi )

“We are in the midst of a global event unlike anything in the history of the state’s existence,” he said during a press conference at his office in Jerusalem.

He also called for the formation of an emergency government following a year-long political deadlock.

“We will deal with the current crisis together and continue later,” he said.

Netanyahu called on families to avoid having grandparents babysit children, saying that instead, “the big children will take care of the smaller children.”

“All of humanity is in the same boat,” he said.

The prime minister reiterated his commitment to fighting the virus and said he’s cooperating extensively with world leaders on the matter.

At the beginning of his statement, Netanyahu warned that “the number of dead [from the coronavirus] could reach large numbers.”

He said the mortality rate from the virus is two percent to four percent.