A ministerial debate on the exit plan for Israel's second coronavirus lockdown has been delayed due to what the Prime Minister's Office said was a lack of data, causing concern among members of the coronavirus cabinet due to hold the discussion.
The discussion will now take place on Tuesday instead of Monday. A senior health official told Ynet that the delay was pointless.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairing a meeting of the coronavirus cabinet
(Photo: GPO)
Ministers in the coronavirus cabinet have also expressed concern over the postponement, arguing that it exacerbates the impact of the closure on the economy.
"The delays in decision-making cause fatal and unnecessary damage to the economy in general and small businesses in particular," the ministers said.
Israel entered its second lockdown of the pandemic on Sept. 18, hours before the start of the Jewish New Year, due to soaring infection rates that the government had struggled to bring under control.
The lockdown closed all non-essential business, confined people to a small distance from their homes and - due to emergency legislation hastily pushed through parliament - restricted public protests and indoor prayer congregations.
The cabinet decided last Monday to postpone the discussions on easing the closure until next week, arguing that it was difficult to draw true conclusions from the data presented to them as there had been a drop in the rate of testing during the Jewish High Holidays.
However, almost three weeks into the new lockdown, it is unclear what data the cabinet is awaiting or what justification there is for postponing the hearing for another day.
Meanwhile, the government late Tuesday approved a week-long extension of emergency measures imposed to curb the spread of coronavirus, which limit public protests.
The measures include restricting people to demonstrations no further than one kilometer from their home and from holding protests in groups of no more than 20 people.
The measures also include the closure of houses of worship with prayers permitted only outdoors.