Health Minister Yuli Edelstein this evening held a briefing for the media and addressed violations of corona guidelines: "The violations we saw in Bnei Brak and in the demonstrations endanger us. Pressure groups won't affect decisions, we'll release the economy carefully."
"It'll take long weeks until we see the decline in morbidity. It isn't easy; we'll come to the Corona Cabinet tomorrow with a gradual exit plan. We won't repeat mistakes and this time we'll be very careful. No pressure and no lobby will help. We will release our economy with the care necessitated by medical considerations," declared the Minister.
"A verified carrier's leaving isolation and coming to synagogue, or police officers catching people in cars on the way to who-knows-where drives me crazy," Minister Edelstein said.
The Minister referred to prayers in synagogues during Rosh Hashanah: "Following Rosh Hashanah prayers that took place contrary to the outline approved by the Health Ministry coronavirus coordinator, we'll see a wave of morbidity in those groups and synagogues - where hundreds and possibly thousands of people crowded. It's extremely serious."
Towards Sukkot, Minister Edelstein warned that "the people of Israel certainly have no happier holiday in the State of Israel than the holiday of Sukkot - [the Bible says] and you shall rejoice in your holiday. I tell you unequivocally: Let's not see any fooling around: A properly constructed sukkah is an enclosed space. Just as it's forbidden to entertain people in the house, so it's forbidden to entertain in the sukkah. We have to trust the public, there will be no policeman to enter each private yard or house, there won't be a policeman for every sukkah."
Edelstein said that as part of the government's actions, the punishment for violating the guidelines will be aggravated. "We spoke with the Minister and the Deputy Commissioner about the need to increase the fines. We will not go for superficial general supervision, but on punishment for the most serious violations, such as departure of a verified carrier from home, whose severity should be increased. Such things should be severely punished, and we need to consider what to do with businesses that violate the guidelines."
Homeland Security Minister Amir Ohana said the fight against coronavirus is a "battle for our lives": "We're at war, the State of Israel is at war, and this is a world war. This isn't a local war, the whole world is in this struggle, this is a very difficult war with damage to life and no less than that to the economy," the Minister said.
"There's no government in the world that can do this without the cooperation of the public. I'm sure we have the ability to do that, we knew how to unite in times of crisis and emergency, and if this isn't a time of crisis and emergency - I do not know what it is," the Minister said.