COVID-19 closure? Knesset votes to extend travel to 1 km from home

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is holding an urgent meeting with Health Minister Yuli Edelstein, coronavirus commissioner Prof. Ronni Gamzu and a limited number of ministers to discuss whether to tighten the upcoming list of restrictions. The meeting came after a lively debate in the Knesset that questioned the effectiveness of the upcoming lockdown with some flexibility on movement.The ministers and other senior members of the health system are considering whether to change the list of restrictions released early Thursday to make them more strict or to wait until after Rosh Hashanah. It is mostly clear to Netanyahu now – and already was to Gamzu and Edelstein – that the current outline will not last long, as it will not do enough to lower the infection rate. “I consulted with all the senior officials, most of them with advanced degrees and experts in the field, and asked them whether there is a chance that the infection rate will go down under these conditions,” Edelstein said in a recent ministerial meeting. “To my great disappointment, I did not find anyone who was optimistic.”During Thursday’s meeting of the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, Health Minister deputy director-general Itamar Grotto tried to defend the plans. He said that he has “never seen anything” like the coronavirus and that it is a “virus that is deceiving us, and we must change our traditional means of treatment.”He said that the closure that is meant to be implemented Friday at 2 p.m. is different than the previous one because “we’ve learned since then that we can reach an open, more dynamic lockdown, similar to the model that proved itself in other countries.”As for providing the public with directives, Grotto said that “the very basic message is stay at home. If you don’t need to leave for anything essential, stay at home. That’s the only way of ensuring the public’s safety.”Earlier in the day, Edelstein addressed the public from the Shield of Israel headquarters in Airport City in an attempt to explain the decisions that led to the expected lockdown. He said that it is easy to point fingers at different sectors or the government, but in the end, “without the public we cannot succeed” in the fight against coronavirus.He spoke as the Knesset was debating the list of restrictions, which are expected to last two weeks, but said that they could be shortened or extended depending on the infection rate.”We are currently in a war for civil peace,” Edelstein said. “I am inundated with questions as to why we allowed the outline of prayers. The answer is that the restrictions apply during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Given this fact, we have proudly approved minyanim [prayer quorums] with all the requirements of the Purple Ribbon so that everyone who wants to pray can – they can hear the shofar or Kol Nidre, each according to their custom.”He said that the public should cease to ask why prayer and protests are allowed, and instead ask themselves, “What can I do so these restrictions will work, and we will see a different infection rate?”He said the infection rate is up because schools opened on September 1, claiming that he has the data to show that there are thousands of sick students and teachers throughout the country. He added that the medical system is overburdened and overcapacity, Edelstein stressed. Some 3,519 medical personnel are in isolation and 1,284 are sick with coronavirus. “Think how these numbers contribute to the burden on the healthcare system,” he said.On Thursday, the Health Ministry reported 4,537 new cases of the virus in the last day. Some 549 people were in serious condition. The death toll spiked to 1,165.At the same time, a team of researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, who monitor Israel’s coronavirus infection rates daily, published a report Thursday that predicts a significant increase in the number of coronavirus patients and the number of patients in serious and critical condition. The report also predicts a significant increase in coronavirus deaths in the coming days. They said they expected an additional 1,000 to 2,500 deaths during the course of the closure. “Until now, the numbers have been following optimistic models of infection, as expected and due to infections occurring primarily in the young population,” the report said. “But in recent days, there has been an increase in the amount of critical patients.”During his press conference, Edelstein addressed the pushback against the 500 meters restriction, which medical experts have said has no epidemiological value. He said he agrees – but “there is a very clear socio-managerial logic in this guideline and I call on everyone to keep it. Because without it, we will all visit our families, go to the beach and parks, and the restrictions will continue.”Later, the Knesset committee voted to change the limit from 500 meters to 1 kilometer. “Following the discussions in the committee, there is agreement on the part of the government and it will enter in the telephone poll, to increase the limit of access to public space from 500 meters to 1000 meters,” MK Yaakov Asher, who chairs the committee, said. “Closure will not be comfortable. With all its difficulties, this is good and important news.””Have you lost your mind? This looks nothing like a lockdown,” said MK Karin Elharrar (Yesh Atid) during the meeting. “It’s the devastation of our economy. It shouldn’t have been presented 30 hours before implementing it and entering lockdown. I’ve gone over the regulations. The most significant things closed are businesses, without having discussed any form of appropriate compensation.”She added that the lockdown won’t decrease morbidity rates and that the police will not be able to enforce the restrictions.“The restrictions have no logic to them,” she concluded.

Map of where Israel Police placed barriers to enforce the coronavirus lockdown (Credit: Police Spokesperson’s Unit)

Regarding enforcement, the Israel Police echoed Edelstein’s comments about the importance of the public showing responsibility, but said it will enforce the lockdown to the best of its ability. “We’re facing a national mission. It wasn’t called ‘winning responsibility’ for nothing, and it’s important that the public understands that while the responsibility falls on the police regarding enforcement – it falls on the public as well,” police officials told The Jerusalem Post’s sister paper Maariv. “Only by joining forces and being responsible will we be able to complete the mission and eradicate the virus.”We’re not against the citizens,” they added. “If someone is looking to violate the restrictions, they can definitely find ways to do so. But they won’t be able to trick the virus or the public … This is a sensitive operation, and we’re aware of it.”The police said it has been working on special training programs over the last few days to better handle the challenge.There will be 38 intercity roadblocks set up, the police said, adding that there will be around 6,000 police officers and 1,000 IDF soldiers who will be responsible for enforcement over the holiday. The fines will range between NIS 500 and 5,000. Source