Coronavirus czar Professor Nachman Ash on Thursday morning harshly criticized those attending, in violation of the coronavirus guidelines, Wednesday night's parties in Tel Aviv.
"It's really tough to see this, it's a lack of understanding among the people," he told Reshet Bet. "I have no doubt that people are exhausted from this year, and there are also the vaccines and people might even fool themselves into thinking that it's all over and we can go out and party and act as usual - and that's not true."
When asked about the public's lack of faith in the "Traffic Light Plan," Ash said, "The fact that there is a lack of trust for a long time is clear. We need to explain and persuade, in the right way."
"The Traffic Light Plan failed because in the State of Israel, it's very complicated to operate that way. For example, commerce - there is no logic in running that according to the Traffic Light Plan."
When asked if there is a way to prevent large gatherings of hasidim on Purim, Ash said, "The 'tishes' (gatherings) are concentrated, as I understand it, mostly on Sunday. We are still sitting and thinking about how to prevent them. It's not proportional to lock down the entire State of Israel because of these tishes in Jerusalem."
Regarding the requirement that those arriving in Israel must quarantine in a hotel, he said, "There is no other solution at the moment - we're looking for one. The quarantine hotels are not a good solution, it's not pleasant and it's not comfortable. I hope we will find a better solution that will ensure the quarantine."
Earlier on Thursday, former Health Ministry Director General Moshe Bar Siman Tov said that despite the vaccines, coronavirus will be part of Israelis' lives for some time more.
"The virus still has enough space to hold on to, and we need to prepare for it to be part of our lives long-term, maybe even more than another six months or a year," Bar Siman Tov told Galei Zahal..