The Coronavirus Cabinet convened Thursday evening to discuss the imposition of a full lockdown on Israeli citizens in light of the surge in corona morbidity throughout the country.
During a break from the discussions, Netanyahu issued a brief update to the public, saying that "Prof. Gamzu and the heads of the hospitals came to the Coronavirus cabinet today and waved a red flag. They said that although the number of patients in serious condition in Israel is still relatively low, this can change in an instant, and then the hospitals will not be able to treat them and there will be many patients in serious condition and many dead."
''They say we need to take action - but we need to do it intelligently and not recklessly, so it takes many hours. On the other hand we want to get it early enough so that we can all get organized for the holidays, for Yom Kippur and before that of course for Rosh Hashanah. I assume we will find a solution that will stop the disease and allow us to get out of the restrictions in a gradual and responsible manner," the prime minister added.
Netanyahu said at the start of the meeting that Israel should institute a lockdown for two-three weeks and then gradually reduce restrictions. "We need to start strong and then start to relax," Netanyahu said.
Construction and Housing Minister Yaakov Litzman told the prime minister: "You are ruining the holidays. It is better to just continue with the night curfews in the red cities."
Netanyahu replied: "We are not ruining anything, but we are working against a serious illness with a serious death count."
Finance Minister Yisrael Katz, who opposes a lockdown, also called for a nightly curfew. According to him, imposing a full lockdown is a decision that does not consider the economy. "This is a move that takes into account both the economy and health, and in this way it is also possible to ensure that the health system does not reach a state of inability" to handle the increase in the number of patients.