Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged on Tuesday cabinet ministers to embrace the Health Ministry's plan to impose strict measures to curb the spread of coronavirus after it became apparent that the contagion was getting out of control.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
The ministry's plan calls for a total lockdown that would all but shut down the Israeli economy – with only essential workers allowed to maintain their normal routine. Offices and businesses would have to shut down or operate remotely, while schools would revert to virtual classrooms.
The cabinet began deliberating on the proposal on Tuesday afternoon. The plan, which would extend for two weeks, would essentially add major restrictions to the ongoing lockdown that has been in place since late December and would be as strict as the first lockdown in the spring.
At the start of the meeting, Netanyahu said: "I have worked tirelessly to bring millions of doses of vaccines to Israel, and the health officials continue to vaccinate Israelis all the time at a pace that has awed the world. We are leading the world on this front, but we also have to first in saving lives."
He added that "our experts have warned us that we are facing an emergency and that if we fail to act we will see hundreds of Israelis lose their lives and we must not let that happen, definitely not so close the finish line ... We should impose a tight and immediate lockdown that would go hand-in-hand with the major vaccination drive. This is how we can save lives, and this is how we will become the first country to emerge out of the woods and open our economy; this is how normal life will return."
Netanyahu said that Israel, like many other countries, has seen a rapid case uptick due to the variants of the virus, forcing the healthcare system to adjust accordingly to avoid a scenario that would overwhelm medical staff. Thus, a lockdown was inevitable.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
