The Ministry of Health announced that its ban on meetings and events of over 100 people will also be valid for weddings, bar mitzvahs, funerals and similar events.
''The order will go into effect in the next few hours. This is a sweeping ban on all events, both in closed and open areas," the ministry said.
Dr. Udi Klinger, deputy head of public health services, said that "since the [outbreak of the pandemic], our policy has adapted itself to the unfolding reality. If at first we placed individuals returning from countries with a large amount of coronavirus patients under isolation, and when it comes to limiting event attendance, we went from 5000 to 2000 and then to 100, adapting ourselves to the [ongoing crisis]." Klinger also told N12 News that all pneumonia patients must now be tested for the COVID-19.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is expected to announce the closing of schools and kindergartens in the coming hours in light of a dramatic increase in the number of Corona patients in Israel, which have climbed to 104 as of the time of the release of this article.
Throughout the day, discussions were held between senior officials from the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, National Security Office and Prime Minister's Office.
The national security headquarters that's responsible for coordinating coronavirus prevention measures came out in support of a complete shutdown of educational institutions, and the final decision is now in the hands of the prime minister.
Secretary-General of the Teachers Union, Yaffe Ben David, also said she was in favor of shutting down all educational institutions across the country.