As Israel battles repeated record daily coronavirus cases, the government was set to vote Thursday on imposing weekend-only lockdowns, as well as closing restaurants and gyms and limiting all gatherings to 10 people.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier held a meeting of ministers, health experts and members of National Security Council, just hours after the Health Ministry reported that 1,758 new COVID-19 cases were recorded in the past 24 hours, bringing the infection rate to an alarming 7%.
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Meeting of ministers, health experts and members of National Security Council
(Photo: GPO)
"Following the spike in infection to nearly 1,800 cases and the doubling of seriously ill every seven days, I have spoken with Defense Minister Benny Gantz, NSC head Meir Ben Shabbat and Science Minister Yizhar Shai, about the need to take for short-term steps to avoid a general lockdown," said Netanyahu after the meeting.
During the debate, the officials chose to adopt some of the National Security Council (NSC) recommendations - to limit restaurant activity to deliveries only, shutter summer schools, gyms and limit all social gatherings to 10 people. The ministers did not agree to close synagogues, swimming pools and beaches.
According to the outline that is set to be tabled for approval later in the evening, all educational institutions, including kindergartens, summer schools and yeshivas, will also be closed. Universities and colleges will switch to online classes only.
Reception hours at government offices and all public transport will operate at 50% capacity.
In addition, the ministers will table a proposal presented by Shai, to impose nationwide lockdowns only on weekends and not on weekdays. The officials are also examining a possibility to impose nightly curfews, but this measure is unlikely to be presented for government's approval at this time.
The weekend lockdowns, even if approved, require a Knesset legislation in order to be legally binding, meaning they will most likely take effect only next weekend from 9am Friday to early Sunday.
A similar meeting was held on Tuesday evening, attended by former Health Ministry Director General Moshe Bar Siman-Tov, who oversaw the last nationwide lockdown.
During the meeting, Defense Minister Benny Gantz said it has been only a week since the last restrictions were implemented and it's too early to tell whether they've had any effect, implying the NSC's recommendations for further closures should be put on hold.