As Israel's defense establishment starts playing an increasingly important role in the nation's battle to defeat the coronavirus pandemic, the Israel Defense Forces announced Tuesday that it will take responsibility for the elderly population, which is considered the highest-risk group.
With the encouragement of Defense Minister Naftali Bennett, the military has decided to launch a national operation to ensure that the elderly population receives food, medical supplies, and help while in quarantine.
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In a related development, the Social Equality Ministry is promoting a plan to compensate retirement-age workers who are out of a job due to the coronavirus shutdown but ineligible for unemployment benefits due to their age.
After the ministry was flooded with requests from retirement-age newly unemployed, the Treasury is now working on emergency measures that will provide relief to that demographic.
"We must provide an anchor for the elderly at this time, and not add financial pressure to their emotional stress," Social Equality Minister Gila Gamliel said.
Gamliel said she would continue to keep tabs on the plan to allocate additional funds to retirement-age unemployed citizens.
