Soldiers and police officers in Jerusalem
Soldiers and police officers in JerusalemPhoto by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90

Dr. Ashi Shalmon, head of international relations in the Health Ministry, emphasized on Wednesday that the lockdown over Passover will not stop the spread of coronavirus if the public does not strictly adhere to the government's guidelines.

"Like I always say, the lockdown is not the point, it's another means or tool by which to achieve enough social isolation to reduce the rate of contagion," he told Arutz Sheva in an interview. "The lockdown is not a complete lockdown, it leaves space to breathe."

He emphasized: "There is great concern, and that is why these steps were taken. All of us are used to spending the seder night with our extended family, and that won't happen this year. We're used to hiking on the intermediate days of Passover, and that also can't happen this year. For this reason, the police will be paying special attention to enforcement of these issues. If we don't keep [the guidelines], there will be many social contacts which will lead to a lot of cases [of coronavirus]."

"I therefore turn to the public: The orders are very clear. We are keeping complete social isolation. Don't try to be smart and find ways to celebrate the seder night not in accordance with the guidelines. Avoid extended family gatherings and protect your families."

Dr. Shalmon also noted that Israel is seeing an improvement in the number of cases: "We are seeing success, that the rate of infection is slowing. It's true that the rate of contagion in various communities is different, and if we clean out the problematic communities, we basically have excellent control on a national level. I hope that the steps that we have taken in the past week will help us reduce the rates of infection in the more sensitive areas."

Will the lockdown be lifted after Passover?

"It's still a bit early to talk about easing [restrictions], but we are working with all our might to plan our exit strategy for the day after [coronavirus]," he said. "It's clear that we will need to open up workplaces and the education system. I don't think that anyone believes that right after Passover, we'll be able to go back to routine as we knew it a month ago, or a month and a half ago."

"We definitely want to see things moving, to reopen the more essential and less dangerous places, to see how we can reopen the educational system so that it's functioning, and to see life in Israel slowly returning to normal."