The Finance Ministry aims to bring forward the reopening of the battered restaurant and cafe sector as early as May 20 under new proposals that officials will present to the Health Ministry later this week. The plan, expected to be discussed at a meeting on Wednesday by the two ministries, is based on the formulation of a restaurant-specific set of “purple badge” hygiene standards and comes as the number of coronavirus cases continues to decline. The number of active cases dropped to 4,690 on Monday morning – among them only 64 who are intubated. So far, 254 people have died. While the government’s coronavirus exit strategy plan includes the reopening of restaurants at the end of May or in mid-June, the Finance Ministry’s plan follows an appeal by Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai last week to reopen restaurants and bars at an earlier date, warning that waiting until at least the end of May will result in many shutting down. “In light of the infection data and the importance of returning employees and the economy to operations, we suggest bringing forward the reopening of restaurants and cafes to May 20,” wrote Ran Kiviti, director of the Finance Ministry’s Small and Medium Businesses Agency, in a letter to Health Ministry Deputy Director-General Itamar Grotto. Citing wide-ranging discussions with representatives of the restaurant sector, the Finance Ministry’s restaurant-specific “purple badge” criteria are in addition to standards required for all industries, including employee health questionnaires, temperature checks, disinfection of surfaces, maintaining distances between waiting customers, and the supply of hygiene products. For restaurants and cafes, additional demands include washing dishes at 70 degrees Celsius, kitchen staff always wearing masks, cleaning chairs and tables after every diner, and setting the table only after customers are sitting down. A distance of one meter will be required between tables, and 40 centimeters between the backs of chairs. Customers will need to wear masks when entering and leaving the restaurant. According to data published by the Finance Ministry last week, approximately 64,400 restaurant industry employees are currently seeking unemployment benefits. Only the education sector, with 65,000 impacted employees, exceeded those impacted by the coronavirus outbreak in the restaurant industry. Speaking to reporters last week, Israel Restaurants Association CEO Shai Berman accused the government of “cheating” the nation’s restaurateurs and bar owners, and calling government assistance packages “one big bluff.” “We have seen IKEA opening, the malls opening and the gyms opening, and we cannot understand why we are closed – we feel cheated,” Berman said. “We watch pretentious press conferences every evening at prime time, hearing the prime minister and Tax Authority director talking about how they are transferring money to us at the push of a button. The vast majority of workers and entrepreneurs in the restaurant sector have not seen one shekel of assistance.” At the same time, the Tel Aviv Municipality and others are pushing the Health Ministry to open beaches, but thus far, the Health Ministry has refused. On Monday, the ministry released a public statement saying that “the subject is being discussed with the relevant municipalities. Only after the standards we set for ensuring the public’s health are able to be met will the beaches be allowed to open.” However, the Cabinet did approve some amendments to emergency regulations and made a decision to allocate NIS 6 million to returning Israelis from abroad during a late night meeting on Sunday. Now, Israelis entering the country who can prove the ability to self-quarantine in their home or another private residence will no longer be required to enter a “coronavirus hotel.” If they do not have a place to stay, a hotel will be made available at the state’s expense. The Cabinet approved that people returning from abroad cannot take public transportation to their place of quarantine, except for cabs, in order to prevent potential infection. Travelers must wear masks and keep windows open on their drive to their place of isolation. Any traveler who is in violation of these rules will be fined and required to complete the quarantine in a hotel. So far, there have been 5,534 isolated or ill patients in the quarantine hotels, of whom 3,134 have returned to their homes, according to the IDF. Twenty-three hotels and hostels were opened by the Defense Ministry through the Home Front Command: 12 recovery hotels for patients who had minor cases of coronavirus and 11 isolation hotels for Israelis returning from abroad. About half of the hotels are privately owned and about half were part of larger hotel chains, the Defense Ministry said, adding that about half a million meals totally NIS 79 million were served to occupants. To date, according to deputy head of procurement in the Defense Ministry, Bracha Hertz, all but four of the hotels are closed. The Cabinet put police in charge of enforcing the quarantine with the assistance of Population and Immigration Authority inspectors.
For local Israelis, some restrictions were also eased. The public may sit or walk in public parks or playgrounds and may take advantage of outdoor exercise equipment, maintaining the two-meter distance required from others. Municipalities will oversee the cleanliness of the equipment. The restriction on using playgrounds in public parks or other public areas is still in effect. The Cabinet also reduced restrictions on the activity of businesses and stores in the evening hours during Ramadan in communities where the majority of residents are Muslims. Going forward, this restriction will only be applied to “hot” or “red” zones with a high level of infection. Finally, patients undergoing psychiatric treatment are no longer required to wear masks even if they are less than three meters from their care provider. The new emergency regulations are in effect until Tuesday, May 19.
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