The curfew for Purim will take effect Thursday night at 8:30p.m. and will last until Friday at 5:00a.m., before it is reimposed on Friday evening and then on Saturday evening. It will remain in effect until Sunday.
During the curfew, the police will deploy 24 checkpoints on major intercity highways. Police Commissioner Superintendent Kobi Shabtai stated Wednesday night that enforcement of public health regulations on Purim will be uncompromising.
"We will use all the resources available to us to enforce regulations. We intend to deploy as many as 2,500 roadblocks throughout the country, activate intelligence sources, and are ready to bring criminal charges against those organizing illegal gatherings," he said.
Public Security Minister Amir Ohana (Likud) added, "I have no doubt there will be violations. The police are not interested in a confrontation with the civilians, but this weekend they will be deployed in full force to enforce the law."
Last night, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu issued a special statement from Tel Hashomer's Sheba Medical Center ahead of the Purim holiday, in which he also laid out the five stages for returning to routine.
"Last Purim saw a mass outbreak, leading to a wave of lockdowns. It must not be repeated this Purim. Everyone must keep to the guidelines," Netanyahu began.
Regarding rumors of vaccines doing more harm than good, the PM was openly dismissive. "Do not believe this fake news. Go get vaccinated. The virus is the foreign and unnatural body that attacks the body, and vaccines are the defense. There are more than a million adult Israelis who have not been vaccinated once. The rest of the world sees citizens longing for vaccines, while Israel has millions of doses and no one is taking them."
Netanyahu said, "Our goal is 6,200,000 individuals vaccinated. We are one million and 200,000 people away. We must close that gap in order to return to routine."
Of the five stages of the current exit strategy, Phase 1 involved the use of the green passport, and limited resumption of educational activities. Phase 2 includes vaccinating the entire adult population over March and being ready to reopen the economy completely by April.