The Knesset’s Coronavirus Committee has demanded a number of changes to the government’s list of new restrictions on public activity, including lifting the weekend closures of beaches and permitting restaurants to operate at a reduced capacity.
Last Thursday night, the government voted in favor of a number of new restrictions on public activity, including ordering the closure of gyms and on-site dining at restaurants, outdoor gatherings of more than 20 people and indoor gatherings of more than 10 people.
In addition, the government voted to order closures of businesses, beaches, and public pools during weekends, from Friday afternoon to Sunday morning.
But on Sunday, the Knesset’s Coronavirus Committee pushed back on some of the government’s new restrictions, calling for an arrangement to be found to enable gyms to reopen and restaurants to offer on-site dining, albeit at 35% of total seating capacity – similar to the government’s restriction on dining areas in hotels.
The committee also rejected the government’s plan to close beaches on weekends, and called for some attractions to be left open, including zoos across the country and tourist attractions in the southern city of Eilat.
Committee chairwoman Yifat Shasha-Biton (Likud) also pushed back against claims Israel may need to impose a second nationwide lockdown in the near future.
“We have a lot more to do before we impose a lockdown on citizens. The question isn’t whether we should have things remain open, but how and under what conditions.”
Shasha-Biton led the committee last week in rejecting the government’s earlier list of new restrictions, including the closure of gyms and indoor pools, demanding the government provide statistics to justify the closures.
On Sunday, Health Ministry Deputy Director-General Itamar Grotto addressed the committee, and provided some data on the spread of the coronavirus.
According to the data provided by Grotto, just four cases of the coronavirus were known to have originated at beaches or swimming pools, or roughly 0.2% of the total number of cases where the point of infection was known.
The most common place of infection - in cases where the source could be determined – was at home, with roughly two-thirds of cases originating in the infected person’s own household.
Educational institutions were second when it came to coronavirus infections with close to 10% originating in state schools, and 123 infections, or about 5.6% taking place at mass events.