Some one-third of working Israelis (32%) say they have missed workdays in the past week, and just around one-third (27%) say their children have been in school over that same time. The rest say their children haven't gone to school at all (20%) or just partially (53%), according to a poll conducted by the Maagar Mochot research institute for Israel Hayom that included 508 participants aged 18 and older.
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The figures confirm what every Israeli living here through the fifth wave of the pandemic already knows – that in actuality a "quiet quarantine" is taking place, as opposed to the government openly declaring a general quarantine of the population, which is the case in several countries across the globe, including China and The Netherlands.
This "quiet quarantine" can be seen and felt across all sectors and aspects of life outside the home, from half-empty classrooms, relatively uncongested roads, half-empty trains and buses, shows and other cultural events that have been canceled en masse, and the semi-barren shopping malls and commercial centers.
This situation, which is so grave from an economic, social, and public health perspective, as the poll reflects, also stands in complete contrast to the arrogant, disconnected declarations by certain government ministers, such as Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who said "the restaurants are full" – or Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton, who has repeatedly said 90% of Israeli students are going to school per normal.
It comes as no surprise, therefore, that the poll showed that Shasha-Biton received the lowest marks for her performance during the fifth wave (only 18% gave her a high or very high grade), along with Lieberman (just 20%). Meanwhile, Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz (23%), Prime Minister Naftali Bennett (25%), Foreign Minister and Alternate Prime Minister Yair Lapid (26%), and Defense Minister Benny Gantz (35%) received high or very high marks from the public.
According to the poll, just 22% of those questioned give the government a high or very high mark for its handling of the COVID crisis, 30% give it a mediocre grade, and nearly half (48%) give it a failing grade.
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