Former Health Ministry Director-General Gabi Barbash called Wednesday for even stricter measures to be implemented in the ongoing nationwide lockdown, in the hope it will substantially lower the infection rate.
Speaking with Kan Wednesday morning, Barbash said he was underwhelmed by the new restrictions imposed last Friday, when the lockdown was tightened.
“It seems like less of a lockdown that what I had imagined. I wanted to see a lockdown like the one which was imposed during Passover. If you’re going to do a lockdown, make it a real lockdown.”
Barbash said the government should aim for a drastic reduction in the number of newly diagnosed cases, with no more than 100 new infections per day.
“We need to lower the number of new infections to no more than 100. That will take at least a month. Unlike during the first wave, these infections are more spread out across the country, and what is happening in the haredi world – things are just going out of control.”
Barbash warned that the increasing demands placed on the healthcare system would lead to poorer care – and increased fatality rates.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the fatalities come from the system being overwhelmed. I think that the system today is giving poorer care than it was a month ago.”