The latest news out of the Coronavirus National Information and Knowledge Center seems to now be confirming what many Israelis had feared for some time – that the coronavirus (COVID-19) is coming back in a big way.
The latest report, released on June 21st by the agency, showed the infection rate increasing. At the time of its issuance, there had been 341 new cases diagnosed in the preceding 24 hours. That's not only the highest daily total recorded since April but also represented an upward arc that's triggering alarm bells throughout the government.
In response to the report, the Health Ministry sent an urgent letter to the nation's hospital directors, ordering that they make preparations to reopen previously shuttered COVID-19 wards. That reverses a trend that had seen many local wards shutting down as the infection rate dropped in May.
The general population isn't the only place where the virus seems to be increasing again. In separate news, the Israeli Defense Forces also announced that they're seeing a rise in infection rates, as well. In response to the threat, Defense Minister Benny Gantz indicated that the coronavirus is a problem "which will accompany us for the next year and a half, and may even longer" and that required "precise guidelines, proper preparations at the governmental level, the Corona cabinet, the relevant minister of health downwards and personal responsibility from the public upwards."
His message, it seems, is already being echoed elsewhere in the government. At the weekly government meeting, Prime Minister Netanyahu announced plans to call a Monday coronavirus cabinet meeting to plan a response to what he is calling a renewed outbreak of the deadly disease. He also exhorted the public to renew their efforts to halt the spread of the illness, cautioning that "if we don't change our behavior, while wearing masks and observing social distancing, further lockdowns would be imposed."
In advance of the meeting, Health Ministry Director-General Professor Hezi Levi addressed the media and tried to tamp down public fears of a major reversal of policy. He said that "I don't think we should enter a lockdown, nor does the government talk about one. True, we are living with the disease [COVID-19], it did not go away, but we can exercise caution, care enough to wear masks and keep distance, this is what will keep us safe from another lockdown. None of us want to go back to a closure. If we know how to behave properly, we can flatten the curve."
His sentiment would seem to indicate that the government would instead choose to consider other mitigation tactics short of a lockdown unless they had no alternative. But with the Supreme Court having put an end to the controversial cellular phone data contact tracing program that the Shin Bet security service stood up at the beginning of the crisis, it's unclear what measures could be on the table.
In its place, the cabinet could authorize the training of a small army new community service workers to operate a more traditional contact tracing program. Or, they might instead consider legislation to legalize the original Shin Bet program, as the court suggested at the time of the ruling. According to Health Minister Yuli Edelstein, that's the route he'd prefer.
He indicated as much in saying that "We're at a crucial time, and it's really important to rapidly break infection chains, including by using [Shin Bet] tracking, in order to flatten the curve and keep the economy open". And in a retort to critics who had claimed that legislation granting such authority to Shin Bet going forward was an affront to Israelis' privacy rights, he said, "It's best to keep data with the Shin Bet than a private company that who knows what its interests are."
There's still no clear consensus on what decisions might come from the meeting of the coronavirus cabinet, but it seems certain that action will be taken soon. With the virus continuing to surge, and nearby nations already reconsidering allowing Israeli tourists to resume normal travel, there's no way that the status quo will be sufficient. So, as Israelis watch and wait to see what the next steps in their months-long fight against the coronavirus will be, the best anyone can do is redouble their commitment to wearing masks in public and adhering to social distancing guidelines immediately. If not, the next steps might look an awful lot like the ones rolled out at the outset of the crisis – and that's an outcome that would please no one.