Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has announced that he does not intend to ease or tighten the lockdown at this stage. "We are not ready to test the waters for easing it. Only another week will it be possible to talk."
Netanyahu sent condolences to the loved ones of the Pittsburgh Rebbi, Rabbi Mordechai Leifer, who was laid to rest today in Ashdod. However, he criticized the conduct of the mourners who gathered to pay their respects to the rabbi. "This is a serious violation of the rules. This creates two problems that we have also seen in other gatherings - it is both an incubator for the coronavirus and breaks our unity. This is unacceptable."
"The Simchat Beit Hashoeva is before us. The rabbis themselves said this year - avoid it. It is easy to turn Simchat Beit Hashoeva into the tragedy of Beit Hashoeva. Therefore, the simple rule is this - guard yourself very carefully. Be very careful. I ask for the cooperation of all in this singular effort on Sukkot, to unite the people of Israel around these simple rules."
On the general lockdown, the prime minister said: "We must act on the basis of data. I said yesterday that there is cautious optimism, but I am more cautious than the cautious. I think we have learned that it is worth working in a very measured and orderly manner. We currently store this data every day. We will have data only after next weekend, after Sunday. The Health Minister asked to collect the data by Monday, after Simchat Torah, in order to make an informed decision. Therefore, I do not intend to bring neither the easements nor the greater restrictions to the lockdown until Monday."
Coronavirus Czar Prof. Ronni Gamzu called for increased enforcement on businesses and to tighten the issue of enforcement and fines. "We propose to double the fine from NIS 5,000 to 10,000. In multi-participant events that are prohibited, to increase the fine from NIS 5,000 to 50,00. We want to enforce the restrictions on weddings. We need a much larger deterrent fine."