Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday night warned that the fight against the coronavirus is far from over and implored citizens to stay at home.
Speaking in an interview with Channel 12 News, the prime minister said: "No one knows at the moment where this will go – we know how it started and don't know how it will end. The pandemic started in China, moved to Italy and from there to the rest of the world. In the countries that didn't close their borders the situation is much worse. Italy, Spain, Iran. In these countries they are talking about deaths, not infections – that is the measuring stick. In the United States, too, they are nearing a shutdown at least similar to ours. The mortality rate can fluctuate between 1-2% and 4%.
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"In Israel, the number of deaths could reach many thousands. We are in a better situation than these countries because we made the decision to close our borders. What I'm trying to do is detect, isolate and treat the sick. There are economic, livelihood, subsistence problems. At the same time, I want to free up those who are healthy. To locate those who are ill we are using digital means," he said.
Responding to the criticism against the Health Ministry, Netanyahu said, "The health budget more than doubled during my time [as prime minister]. There were deficiencies, I'm not saying there weren't, but right now what's important is to work and to isolate. At the moment most of the healthcare system is on the verge of collapse so it doesn't matter. This is why I am trying to limit the [number of] sick."
As for a national unity government, the prime minister said: "I came with a generous offer [to the Blue and White party], people were astonished. I said we'd also split the Knesset committees equally. This is what's done in a unity government. But [Yair] Lapid wants to upend this, they want most of the committees. This is Yair Lapid's plan, I'm not pointing a finger at [Blue and White leader Benny] Gantz; Lapid is struggling to make a decision."
According to Netanyahu's plan for a national unity government, he would head the government for 18 months, after which Gantz would take over.
"The details have all been agreed," Netanyahu told Channel 12 News. "I will evacuate [office] on the date we decide, there will be no tricks, no shticks. Millions of citizens are waiting for us to save Israel. This is the last call for unity."
He added: "What's preventing unity is a takeover attempt to depose the Speaker of the Knesset. They can replace the Speaker and then there is no unity. They said: 'You are the first prime minister [in a possible rotation], and you have the Speaker of the Knesset.' Yair Lapid has a crazy idea. Yair Lapid is nuts. And with all that, I am calling on him to join [a unity government], and also on [Yisrael Beytenu Chairman Avigdor] Lieberman."
Addressing Gantz directly, Netanyahu said: "I'm asking you Benny, I said Israel before all else. Not Lapid before all else. Make the decision, you have a fantastic offer. We can move forward together and leave the petty politics behind. I am saying this from the bottom of my heart as one who is doing all he can to save the country."
In response, Gantz wrote on Twitter: "Netanyahu, anyone who wants unity doesn't impose ultimatums, use partial leaks and most certainly does not hurt democracy or the citizens and does not paralyze the Knesset.
Lapid, too, responded to the prime minister's remarks.
"In the middle of a national and health crisis the prime minister is going on TV and incessantly lying and slandering. Unlike him, I won't stoop to that level. Netanyahu's empty threats don't impress us, nor does "the deal in text messages" that never was. In the coming week we will elect a new Knesset Speaker and activate [the parliament] to fight the coronavirus on behalf of the citizens. This is the only thing that's important right now," Lapid said.
As for the ongoing battle to contain the coronavirus, the prime minister added that he has "directed several committees" to examine the feasibility of allowing healthy Israelis back to work.
"If we reach the point where we can identify antibodies in the blood and release all those who have antibodies from quarantine, we would solve a large part of the problem," he said.
On the economic front, Netanyahu said: "We will take care of the citizens. We instituted unemployment benefits, we took care of the self-employed, credit. I want to make sure there will be money for many people. I'm not sure what they're doing in other countries isn't leading to a larger crisis. [On Friday] I spoke with the governor of the Bank of Israel about how deep we can dig into our pockets to provide individual security; people need to be able to eat. I think the way I'm leading this will start to solve the problem."
In the meantime, the Health Ministry on Sunday morning said that the number of tests for the virus was doubled in the past four days. However, the figures stemming from those tested cannot provide information about the prevalence of the virus among the general population. This is because only people who have specifically returned from abroad or came into contact with an infected individual are currently being tested.
Therefore, the age group with the largest number of sick people, 30-39 (14% of the documented cases), isn't necessarily representative because it's likely that people in this age group travel abroad more frequently.
