National Security Council head Meir Ben Shabbat said in conversation with the heads of state authorities that he expects them to find replacements for the gatherings that are customary on Simchat Torah, and called for the holiday to be held without hakafot and mass gatherings.
"No to weddings and mass celebrations in the season that starts right after the holidays," he added. "This is a real danger and we need to be attentive to it. We also need to find solutions for winter prayers in places where there are no covered structures. We need to be creative."