Israel's coronavirus czar on Tuesday said he opposes another nationwide lockdown or any other health measures that could harm the economy, but he will recommend the government imposes tough restrictions on movement for the Jewish High Holidays in September.
Speaking during a weekly press briefing, Prof. Ronni Gamzu, said the restrictions will be imposed in accordance with the infection rate. “We all thoroughly understand the difficulty associated with going out, movement and family meals,” Gamzu said.
“At the moment it's too early to talk about the specifics of the restrictions but I might recommend more significant curbs on gathering and movement.”
Gamzu also said that he will continue advocating against another nationwide lockdown.
"We are continuing with my outline, which I take full responsibility for," he said. "The way Israel needs to move forward is by establishing infrastructure to fight virus, not lockdowns, severe restrictions or any decision, which will further hurt the economy."
Gamzu also stressed that managing the coronavirus pandemic is a "communal" affair and therefore more authority should be given to local municipalities.
"Stop overseeing the pandemic from Jerusalem – it should be managed locally," he said.
He added that police will ramp up its enforcement campaign to make sure public health orders are being adhered to. "The public is not taking the directives seriously, so they go wild," he said. "I want to reinforce the public's trust in us. The public wants to know everything and feel the government is truthful with them."
The professor remained coy when asked if the school year will indeed start on September 1 as proposed by the Education Ministry's outline, saying a final decision on the matter will be made sometime next week.
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Elementary school students in central Israel wearing masks while in class
(Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)
In the meantime, five more people in Israel have lost their lives to coronavirus since midnight Tuesday, bringing the national COVID-19 death toll to 698. The number of seriously ill cases has also shot up to 410, an increase of 11 overnight, and there are currently 113 people on ventilators.
Testing for the virus in the preceding 24 hours led to another 1,660 new diagnoses, 248 of them since midnight, the Health Ministry said.
Israel is now approaching a total of 100,000 cases of the virus since the start of the pandemic, with 23,399 people in the country currently battling COVID-19 and 71,167 having recovered.