Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Photo: Times of Israel
jpnn.com, JERUSALEM – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to tighten the lockdown after he said the surge in coronavirus infections pushed the country to the brink.
Israel was again locked in lockdown on September 18. But over the past week, the number of new cases each day has reached nearly 7,000 among a population of 9 million and is taxing resources in some hospitals.
“If we do not take immediate and difficult steps, we will reach the edge of the abyss,” Netanyahu said in a public address to the cabinet on Thursday (9/24).
The new restrictions require all businesses and workplaces, except those designated as essential, to be closed for at least two weeks starting Friday (25/9). The list will be released today, according to an official government statement.
Israel’s Finance Minister Katz and Bank of Israel Governor Amir Yaron objected to the new restrictions, according to the finance ministry, which estimated the damage from the three-week lockdown to the economy was around 35 billion shekels (around Rp.151 trillion).
Israel is already in recession and unemployment is above 11 percent.
Schools will remain closed, but the synagogue will remain open on Yom Kippur, the Day of Jewish Atonement, next week, although the number of worshipers will be limited. The religious parties in the coalition government have fiercely opposed the closure of the synagogue.
A survey published by the Israel Democracy Institute on Wednesday showed only 27 percent of Israelis trust Netanyahu’s handling of the coronavirus crisis.
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