Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said that the government may have to impose a nationwide lockdown within three to four days if the government doesn’t take action immediately and if the coronavirus infection rate does not decrease.
“I think we have three-four days left to see if there are results to the minimal steps we took – much fewer steps than we wanted…if there’s a medical miracle [and infections rates decrease], maybe we won’t reach a lockdown.”
National Security Council head Meir Ben-Shabbat recommended imposing further restrictions at a meeting with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and senior officials on Tuesday night, including closing shuls, yeshivas, pools, restaurants, gyms, and summer camps. Defense Minister Benny Gantz said he was opposed imposing further restrictions until it becomes clear whether the earlier restrictions have been effective. Meanwhile, Edelstein said is too late for restrictions and only a lockdown will stem the tide of the soaring infection rate.
However, on Wednesday, Gantz said that a partial or full lockdown may be necessary during an interview with Kan News.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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2 Responses
Just let people deal with it one day at a time, remember it is a pandemic and YOU CAN’T STOP IT!
I hate communism: Do you also hate death and sickness: No, you cannot stop it but you can slow its spread by taking aggressive actions such as EY did during the first wave. Once the situation improved, many Israelis mindlessly assumed they could go back to “normal” and now we are seeing the consequences . If they keep waiting and “hoping for the best” they are risking a tidal wave of infections that they will be unable to control.