In a statement made this morning, Finance Minister Yisrael Katz said that he is "delighted that the government's coronavirus cabinet has authorized the new version of the coronavirus regulations that I presented. The changes I made that differ from the original format will enable additional tens of thousands of factories and businesses to continue to operate during the lockdown until we emerge from this health crisis."
Katz added that, "The choking lockdown that the government decided on the day before yesterday, despite my vote opposing, would have caused irreparable damage to a great number of businesses, and therefore I proposed various changes to the regulations. At this difficult time, the State of Israel must operate on two fronts - keeping in mind both the public health and the economy - in order to enable us to emerge from lockdown swiftly and smoothly."