Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said at a press conference Thursday night that newly appointed Coronavirus Czar Prof. Roni Gamzu will receive full authority in three areas - testing, investigations, and isolation.
"Prof. Roni Gamzu has extensive experience in the health system. He will have one big task: cutting off the chain of infection. In recent years he has fought against cancer and won. This will help us to defeat the coronavirus as well," Netanyahu said.
The prime minister stated that "many countries that opened up the public space in the first wave are now closing different spaces due to the growing morbidity rates."
"We are still trying as hard as possible to avoid a general lockdown. But if there is a need for it - we will do it because what guides us is the need to save lives," he added. "We will not make decisions based on populist moves."
"I hear the criticism from those who do not have the responsibility. I am on the field, but you know that we are waging war [against the coronavirus] around the clock. In this war there is no time to respond to every little criticism. We need to act fast.
"Benny Gantz and I have agreed to downsize the coronavirus cabinet in order to speed up the decision-making process," Netanyahu said.
"At the beginning of next week, we will bring the economic grant for each citizen for approval by the government, and later we will present more plans to accelerate the wheels of the economy," Netanyahu explained.