Defense Minister Naftali Bennett discussed a situation assessment which was following the spread of the coronavirus, attended by the Deputy Defense Minister, Director General of the Ministry of Defense, National Emergency Authority Head, Deputy Chief of Staff, Home Front Command, Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories and other parties.
Bennett said that there are officially 213 coronavirus patients in Israel, but there are probably many more that the Ministry of Health does not know about.
"The weekly rate is an increase of four times a week. If this rate continues, we expect next week 200 [new cases] every day and then 800. I think the public should be told the truth that we don't know how many patients there are," he said.
Bennett added: "This week is a critical week because we will know if there is a surge in the amount of infections. The actions we take today will affect things in a few days. Israel must stay ahead of the coronavirus. The is no vaccine for coronavirus, the real vaccine is awareness. The cure for coronavirus is caring and responsibility from every citizen. "
"50 to 60 percent of what needs to be done is all about public behavior: no handshakes, keeping two meters away from others as a rule, and washing one's hands ten times a day. The second thing is 'carpet bombing, diluting all activity. The third thing, and that's very important, isa massive amplification of the daily tests.
"Our main task at present is to open four hotel rooms this week. One in the Galilee, one in Tel Aviv, one in Jerusalem and one in the Negev. The residents of a hotel will be 500 patients. carriers that will be there have very mild symptoms. They will be able to spend five weeks there..
"The State of Israel does not have a good performance body like the defense system and the IDF, and we embarked on a very significant procurement journey for medical equipment such as respirators. I instructed Chief of Staff Kochavi today that the IDF has two tasks: to protect Israel from its enemies as usual, and to help protect Israeli citizens from the coronavirus. I am convinced that we will go through this crisis together. "