In Monday night’s press conference announcing Israel’s exit plan from coronavirus restrictions, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke proudly about Israel’s success in fighting against the coronavirus.

”We have invested a large national effort to curb the virus and have achieved very great success,” Netanyahu said. “On March 18, we were at 118 daily cases that grew to 729, and it has since dropped to 31.”

Netanyahu, who is known for using visual props to emphasize his messages to the public, showed a series of graphs highlighting Israel’s success in keeping coronavirus infections at bay compared to other countries and cities with populations similar in size to that of Israel.

Israel has a population of 8.8 million residents and has suffered 235 fatalities. Belgium, with a population of 11.5 million has suffered 7,924 fatalities, Sweden, with a population of 10.23 million suffered 2,769 fatalities, and New York City, with a population of 8.4 million has suffered 18,000 fatalities.

השגנו הצלחה אדירה בבלימת מגיפת הקורונה והצלנו את חייהם של אלפי ישראלים. כעת חוזרים בהדרגה לשגרה חדשה שתהיה תלויה במשמעת ובאחריות של אזרחי ישראל. pic.twitter.com/9uGMISUMtZ

— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) May 4, 2020

“Israel’s achievements are a model for many countries,” Netanyahu said, adding that Israel’s success is based on three factors: the speedy closing of its borders and isolation of those diagnosed with the virus; the exceptional work of its medical staff; and most importantly, the public’s adherence to Health Ministry regulations.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)