Defense Minister Naftali Bennett stated in an interview with Galei Tzahal that "if we do not significantly increase the testing system, there is nothing to talk about [on the question of] leaving the crisis and starting the economy after Passover."
Minister Bennett's remarks come against the backdrop of criticism from the Ministry of Health, claiming that while at this stage of the fight against the spread of the virus, Israel was to conduct 15,000 tests every day, it is currently only conducting around 5,000-6,000.
Economic commentator Nehemiah Strassler noted Sunday morning on Channel 12 that laboratories do not receive permits to perform tests, and this is also true of the Weizmann Institute, which is capable of performing thousands of tests every day. This means that thousands of tests that take place are not analyzed and results do not reach the citizens who have performed them.
In the interview in question, Minister Bennett also mentioned the possibility of closures on other localities. Bennett noted that he is "working so that in Modi'in Illit, Kiryat Sefer, Beit Shemesh in the haredi neighborhoods, Migdal Haemek and more, we will run the program to remove the elderly population from the danger zone."