Lockdown ends Sunday at 7 a.m. – here’s what you need to know

The government voted in the middle of the night Thursday night to extend the coronavirus lockdown on Israel through Sunday at 7 a.m. and then to begin lifting restrictions on the public. 

“It is good that the cabinet has accepted the recommendations of the Health Ministry and my recommendation, with only minor changes,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement immediately following the meeting that lasted around 12 hours. 

“The lockdown will last until Sunday morning,” he continued. “I ask that the public take very strict care to follow the directives and to go and be vaccinated. The vaccines work. The more people who are vaccinated, with emphasis on the 50+ age group, the more we will be able to gradually, cautiously and responsibly open the economy.”

What changes on Sunday morning?

1 – Abolition of the 1,000-meter restriction on traveling away from home

2 – Opening of nature reserves and national parks, conservation sites and locations under the auspices of the antiquities authority that are visited in the open air

3 – Resumption of work-from-office for employees at companies that do not directly see the public

4 – Return of one-on-one services

5 – Allowance of takeaway from restaurants and cafes

6 – Welcoming of nuclear families to bed and breakfasts

The cabinet decided that schools will open sometime in the coming week, once an outline for education is agreed upon by the Health and Education ministries. 

The Health Ministry had said that only students in yellow and green zones should return to school, which would leave around 60% of the nation’s children to continue with online learning. However, no final decisions have been made. 

The government will reconvene on Sunday to continue discussion of the exit strategy.

“I’m glad common sense won,” Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said. “Public health is above political squabbling. We must not play with human lives.”