New stricter regulations to contain the coronavirus outbreak came into effect at 5 p.m. Wednesday, the Health Ministry announced, as the number of sick Israelis continues to climb, having hit 2,170. The number, released by the ministry, comes on the backdrop of the news that two more Israelis died overnight, bringing the total number of victims in the country to five. The government approved a new set of restrictions on public life overnight. According to the regulations, most Israelis will no longer have freedom of movement, in that they will only be allowed to go on short walks within 100 meters of their homes. Additional restrictions: Public transport will be drastically reduced; attending weddings or other religious ceremonies is allowed, if 10-participant and two-meter rules are followed; going to the mikvah is allowed, as long as arrangements have been made in advance; only two people may travel in a car at one time and they may only be traveling to or from an approved place of work or to the grocery store, pharmacy or a medical appointment; private taxis will be available, but only one passenger and the driver can be in the car at a time. No deliveries can be made except for approved items including newspapers, and essential products and appliances, such as for medical needs. All businesses must be closed, including from within one’s residence, except for various food stores and pharmacies, and those selling optical, hygiene or telecommunications products, electrical appliances or medical accessories. Online sale with shipping is allowed for all types of products: when delivered to private homes, the shipment will be placed outside the residence. Essential services will remain open, including supermarkets, pharmacies, gas stations and banks, which will operate as normal. However, stores must mark a two 2-meter distance between people at checkout lines and ensure that no more than four people are waiting to check out at a time. People can go to work as long as the guidelines are followed, but employers must check the temperature of all those arriving and anyone with a temperature of more than 38 degrees Celsius or above must be refused. In addition, the government has approved Israeli’s right to protest, so long as they do it in accordance with the Health Ministry’s rules: no more than 10 people and a space of two meters between people. Children of separate parents can continue to move between the two houses. Breaking the regulation constitutes a criminal offense and those who transgress them will face a NIS 500 fine or a suspended jail sentence. The Police reported that as of Wednesday they have shut down 55 businesses that were breaking orders; opened 135 cases against people who have broken their quarantine; started 36 cases against people who disseminated fake coronavirus news; and visited 31,841 people to check that they are adhering to isolation, including 6,147 on Wednesday.
Back to the victims, a 76-year-old man, Hillel Moshe from Yehud, was named as Israel’s fourth victim. He had been hospitalized at Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, since last Monday and had significant pre-existing medical conditions. Moshe’s wife is also hospitalized in Sheba with the virus. The fifth victim is Reuven Ben-Moshe, 87, from Petah Tikva. He had been hospitalized in Bnei Brak. He also had pre-existing conditions. The name of the third person who died was released Wednesday: Moshe Ornstein, 87, who had been a resident in the Nofim Geriatric Center in Jerusalem. He had been hospitalized at Hadassah University Medical Center, in Jerusalem’s Ein Kerem. Of the 2,030 infected people reported by the Health Ministry in the morning – the last detailed report, 37 were in serious condition, 54 in moderate condition and 1,876 had mild symptoms. Among those in serious condition is a 45-year-old patient, who according to Channel 12 had no preexisting medical conditions, More than 900 Israelis with the virus are being treated at home. Another 203 are recovering in one of the “coronavirus hotels” that were set up by the Defense Ministry. So far, the ministry has conducted 32,346 coronavirus tests – 5,500 in the last 24 hours – which means 6.3% of those tested for the virus have been diagnosed as positive. It was reported by Israeli media that Arab MK Sondos Saleh was diagnosed with coronavirus after being examined at the Knesset clinic on Wednesday after she complained of fever and weakness. However, the spokesperson for the Knesset said that “despite what was published, we do not have confirmation that MK Saleh has been infected with coronavirus” and MK Ahmed Tibi, who is the leader of Saleh’s Ta’al party in the Joint List and a doctor, said “she does not have coronavirus and there are no tests in the Knesset.” If her diagnosis is confirmed, all 15 Arab Joint List MKs will have to enter home-isolation, as well as potentially many other MKs. So far, nine MKs have been quarantined. On Wednesday, four came out of isolation: Ministers Tzachi Hanegbi and Aryeh Deri and MKs Ram Ben Barak and Alon Shuster. Late Tuesday night, State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman and other senior comptroller officials announced that they would go into 10 days of quarantine after a senior official in the office tested positive for the coronavirus. Englman has no symptoms, but took the measure as a matter of standard precautions directed by the Health Ministry, and will continue to carry out his duties. The quarantine announcement came only days after Englman issued the first report of his term, which included a key chapter about Israel knowing already in the fall of 2019 that it is not properly prepared for the breakout of a pandemic. In a impassioned speech, President Reuven Rivlin called on the community to “learn the art of obedience… I appeal to you, my fellow Israeli citizens: our lives depend on it, our lives depend on it. “My fellow Israeli citizens, once I was a young man and now I am old,” the president continued. “As a child I personally experienced the siege of Jerusalem. As a people and as a nation, we have known the most severe moments of existential threat, and we beat them. I have no doubt in my heart that today, too, if we hold fast to public and personal responsibility and to the mutual obligations we have to each other, we can beat this.” Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.Source
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