Knesset Coronavirus Committee Chairwoman MK Yifat Shasha-Biton lashed out at the Health Ministry for failing to send a senior representative to a meeting on setting out a framework for reopening gyms and authorizing sports activities, cultural events, as well as informal education.
Speaking out on the closure of gyms and the ban on sports activities, Shasha-Biton said, "The Health Ministry must bravely show up and present its opinion and its policies on such an important issue. The ministry is disrespecting the Knesset committee and the citizens and neglecting the health of Israel's citizens and hundreds of thousands of people, among them IDF veterans with disabilities and people with disabilities in general – people [who require] medical rehabilitation, and pensioners. This is what helps them maintain their health at this stage in their lives. This is the source of physical and mental wellbeing for many people," she said.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
As for the Health Ministry's decision not to send a senior official to the meeting, she said, "This is all done through the narrow view of the field of health seen only through the eyes of the coronavirus." She said the ministry had demonstrated "a lack of courage or ability to correctly handle the crisis in its entirety, alongside, of course, the prevention of the spread of the virus. Instead of coming to the committee and seeing how we can maintain people's health, Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis and other senior officials sit and think about how they can shut down the State of Israel again. That is not looking out for public health. We expect an official to come and look all the people who came here in the eye."
She said that "by not coming to the committee [meeting], the Health Ministry's senior management has disrespected people with disabilities."
According to Shasha-Biton, the Knesset committee would demand sports centers for people with disabilities be designated as vital operations.
Boaz Herman, who heads ILAN – The Israel Association for Children With Disabilities, said, "When we assess the benefit of restrictions compared to the heavy price people with disabilities pay for stopping physical activity, the necessary decision is as clear as daylight.
"We demand the Health Ministry make substantive decisions based on infection data and not harm the public. Halting physical activity, certainly for people with physical disabilities, is disastrous and has consequences on their physical and mental state, and the facts prove there is no justification for it. ILAN will fight for people with disabilities to be able to continue their daily routine in the field of rehabilitative sports," he said.
The Knesset committee's meeting came as the Health Ministry released updated data on the status of the outbreak, Monday. According to the ministry's findings, 1,251 of the 38,363 people who tested for COVID-19 on Sunday were found to be carrying the virus, for an infection rate of 3.3.%.
There are currently 13,158 active cases in Israel, of them, 342 are serious. Eight-eight of those in serious condition are on ventilators. Israel has recorded 345,661 infections since the outbreak of the pandemic. So far, 2,917 people have died.
Officials from the National Coronavirus Knowledge and Information Center said the increase in verified cases of the virus was continuing to intensify, with "over 1,300 infected on average each week, alongside an increase in the rate of positive tests, despite the increase in recent testing each week."
In a report published Monday, officials identified an increase in the number of patients in serious condition in recent days, findings they said, "appeared to be consistently on the rise."
There are currently 28 Israeli cities designated as "red" and 37 as "orange" according to the government's traffic light system for designating public health restrictions for local authorities based on the number of new coronavirus cases and percentage of positive test results.
The so-called coronavirus cabinet was set to convene Monday afternoon to decide on the next steps for tackling the outbreak.
A meeting on Sunday saw the cabinet approve a 48-hour extension for the pilot program for reopening malls and museums. During Sunday's meeting, Health Ministry officials called for drastic measures, among them the closure of schools, not including preschools, in "red" and "orange" cities, the closure of malls and open-air markets across the country, and requiring all new arrivals from Serbia and Turkey enter into quarantine.
According to coronavirus chief Nachman Ash, Israel would be better off allowing people to leave the country and imposing harsh restrictions on their return than shutting down air travel completely.
As for the vaccine deliveries set to begin to arrive in the country by the end of the month, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went back on his stated intention of establishing a ministerial committee to determine policies for their distribution, opting to side with Health Minister Yuli Edelstein's position that only qualified experts be tasked with the decision-making process.
"There is a professional committee that was established and is handling the issue of vaccines and the manner of their distribution. Political figures should be kept away from it, as is the case around the world. This is an entirely professional committee," he said.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
