Defense Minister Naftali Bennett (Yamina) on Wednesday spoke about the coronavirus outbreak and Israel's efforts to acquire medical equipment and test carriers, which he said are "beginning to work well."
"We're nearing the exponential phase of the epidemic, we're seeing accelerated growth in the number of serious corona-positive folks who need respiratory support. This is worrying," he said.
"The Israeli public has been remarkable in understanding the vital need to isolate, which is why I have a certain degree of optimism. But the next few days, we're going to hunker down."
Though he said that additional businesses are not closing, he requested: "I urge everyone to be acutely aware of surface contamination."
"Beware of elevator buttons, ATM buttons, because those are mass contamination surfaces. Use a tissue or the fold in your finger.
"I hope that after Passover we'll be able to open up but that depends on the phase of massive testing."