Coronavirus: Government considering full closure – Health Ministry

The government is considering ordering Israelis to remain in their homes and only to leave out of necessity, Deputy Director General of the Ministry of Health Prof. Itamar Grotto said on Monday

“The government is considering a closure for all citizens,  and if that happens then all age groups will be asked to stay in their homes until told otherwise,” Grotto said in an interview with the Hebrew press.  Speaking to Army Radio, Health Minister Ya’acov Litzman said authorities were considering quarantining one town with a significant number of cases. Hebrew media reported that the location under discussion is the ultra-Orthodox town of Kiryat Ye’arim, also known as Telz-Stone, where eight cases have been confirmed to date and one-quarter of the population (1,500 residents) is in isolation.

The news came as the number of coronavirus infections in Israel jumped to 255 – a spike of 55 people from the day before. Earlier, the Health Ministry accidentally announced an increase to 344 patients, but soon corrected itself.

“There was a malfunction in the reporting system,” the ministry said, promising it would update the numbers soon. 

Of the 255 people with the virus, 21 are medical staff. In addition, as of Monday afternoon, there were more than 50,000 people in isolation, including around 2,600 medical personnel.
 

In just the past 24 hours, three cases of medical personnel contracting COVID-19 have been discovered. On Sunday night, a senior doctor and unit manager at Ichilov Hospital was reported by Ynet to have contracted the virus. All of the patients in her unit – many of them senior citizens – had to be tested and transported to another unit and her staff was sent home to self-isolate. 

The next morning, an intern in the hospital’s urology department tested positive for coronavirus, too. 

Meanwhile, the deputy director general of the Central Laboratory for Detecting Coronavirus of the Ministry of Health at Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer tested positive for COVID-19. The lab was shut down.  The central laboratory had carried out approximately 480 tests on a daily basis. Following a request from the Health Ministry to Hadassah-University Medical Center, the Jerusalem hospital said it would aim to fill the gap by doubling or tripling its current rate of tests, calling on PhD students and other laboratory staff to boost their capabilities.  The Carmel Medical Center in Haifa said that its laboratories are now available to run approximately 100 coronavirus tests on a daily basis, and subsequently plans to increase its capability to 400 tests per day once additional equipment arrives from abroad.

Relatedly, the Ministry of Transportation on Sunday ordered public transport companies to prepare an emergency operational plan that would include a 25% reduction in the number of buses in the event of a manpower shortage following drivers entering the isolation. 

In the last week, the option of reducing public transport lines has continually been considered, according to passenger demand. However, experts have warned of overcrowding on buses and trains, which could actually lead to an increase in coronavirus cases and hardm disadvantaged populations that don’t have access to private cars.

National Economic Council Chairman Prof. Avi Simhon, however, contradicted Grotto in an interview with Army Radio, He said that as of Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had not decided to proceed with a full shutdown of the economy, although additional restrictions are likely to be implemented. 

Should Netanyahu subsequently order a shutdown of all places of work, except for critical industries, Simhon said the move would cost the economy at least NIS 50 billion. He added that it will be necessary for the government to “significantly increase” the fiscal deficit in order to compensate businesses and support the economy.