A senior health official warned Monday that imposing a second lockdown over the coronavirus pandemic is a futile move that will do more harm than good.
Professor Idit Matot, a senior adviser to coronavirus commissioner Professor Ronni Gamzu, criticized the government's decision to use the drastic measure, saying, "a lockdown is a disaster. It won't solve anything and it's an admission of failure" in curbing the pandemic.
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"I tried to make a difference from within," she told Israel Hayom. "Now that the decision to impose another lockdown has been made, I'm deeply disappointed. I'm sorry I was unable to prevent it."
Matot was a vocal critic of the measure throughout the government's debate on it, arguing it will be ineffective and undermine the economy further.
Still, announcing the lockdown on Sunday, both Gamzu and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted there was no other way to curb the surging COVID-19 outbreak.
Israel has so far recorded 156,823 corona cases, including 1,126 deaths. So far, 115,128 Israelis have recovered from the disease.
The lockdown, set to on Friday at 6 a.m., the start of the Jewish High Holiday season, will see schools, restaurants, malls and hotels shut down, among other businesses, and Israelis will face restrictions on movement and on gatherings.
The lockdown will remain in place for at least three weeks, at which point officials may relax measures if the number of infections declines.
The move met fierce resistance from the Finance Ministry which warned that another lockdown will deal the Israeli economy a blow to the tune of between 15 and 20 billion shekels ($4.3-$5.7 billion).
Various private sector businesses called on their members – still reeling from the blow dealt to their revenue by the two-month lockdown imposed earlier this year – not to obey the government and remain open.
Finance Ministry Director Keren Turner-Eyal further warned that another lockdown will prevent the economy from recovering.
The overall economic impact of a lockdown during the High Holidays is expected to be particularly serious as this year many of them fall on weekends, meaning they would have had minimal impact on economic activity.
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