Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Health Minister Yuli Edelstein visited Clalit Health Fund in the city of Zarzir in the Galilee Tuesday afternoon.
The visit was attended by the Chairman of the Local Government Center, Haim Bibbas, Zaezir Mayor Amir Mazariv, and the Director of the Northern District of the Clalit Health Insurance Fund, Dr. Mordechai Dayan.
"We are in a national state of emergency," Netanyahu said. "I want to share with you a disturbing figure: in the last month, in the last 30 days, 1,536 people have died in the State of Israel from the coronavirus. Over 97% of them were not vaccinated. Less than 3% of them were vaccinated."
"We are a country of vaccines. We have vaccines for every citizen - for everyone. Just this Sunday, one million more vaccines arrived. Therefore, if you get vaccinated, you are saving your life. There is no reason for you to risk death," he said.
The Prime Minister asked: ''Do not listen to Fake News. Go get vaccinated and save your life. I ask you, in my name and in the name of all the citizens of Israel, to get vaccinated."
In response to reporters' questions, Prime Minister Netanyahu added: "We will probably start opening the education system in the coming days and the reason we are doing this gradually is because there are about 2.5 million children and with the rampant British mutation, they will infect their parents who are aged 40 and 50."
''We are trying to do this in a gradual way so that children do not catch [the disease] and no serious patients are added who will put a burden on the hospitals and then also fill the cemeteries. So we do it gradually. We will probably open in the next few days as a first step, but we will do it gradually.
''We will also issue green passports and then people will be able to go with the green passport, we will be able to gradually open up the various areas of life. Gradually, first education and then the other areas. This is exactly what we are discussing. There is a new reality, we are in an emergency reality. By the way, it's not just us. In Europe, there is talk of full lockdowns until April.
''We have the disease. We have the option to get out of the disease with minimal damage. But the last effort should be made in a gradual and responsible manner. Starting with early childhood education, for some people, then for all people and so we will continue to progress step by step. We can get out of this. The rapid mutation is the reason we are acting more carefully.
''That was not the situation a month ago, it is the situation now and we are adapting to what is happening in the world and domestically, that the mutation is spreading. We have the option because of the millions of vaccines, including the million we received just a few days ago.
"We are working around the clock. The discussions to my delight over the last two days have been serious about the question of how to motivate the rest of the people. First of all the young people who come to get vaccinated, but before that there are the people aged 50 and above. Because 97% of the dead are aged 50+ and 93% of the serious cases are among them.
''Young people can catch it and accumulate all sorts of symptoms that will stay with them for life. That is why we are currently focusing on increasing immunization. We tested the incentives and one of them will surely be the green label, so that people can enter a variety of places: cafes, museums, cinemas, sporting events, hotels and more. We are testing more incentives. There are legal questions we are trying to overcome.
''We are in a state of emergency and we must vaccinate the rest of the population to save lives and prevent bad things that will last a lifetime, and that is possible. We are a country of vaccines, we can vaccinate every citizen and citizen very quickly. What keeps us from this right now is not supply, we have a supply of millions of vaccines and we have fantastic medical teams.
"We have the combination of vaccines and the ability to vaccinate. So this is what we are doing and this is what I am doing here now, and in all localities also in the localities of Arab society and haredi society, there are gaps and we want to vaccinate everyone to get out of it.
''The only thing currently preventing the completion of this move is the Fake News and the malicious superstitions being planted on the public over the Internet. Do not believe them, "Netanyahu added.