Health officials brief Netanyahu on lockdown options, urge immediate action

As coronavirus cases steadily rise, PM weighs various proposals, ranging from full nationwide closure for a month to pinpoint restrictions over holidays

Top health officials on Wednesday night reportedly urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to place the country under immediate lockdown to stem the spread of the coronavirus, ahead of a critical meeting Thursday of the so-called coronavirus cabinet.

Netanyahu was holding consultations on the pandemic and presented with various options, ranging from a full month-long lockdown on the entire country over the High Holidays, to a “breathing” closure in which schools and businesses would close for weeks but only movement between cities would be curtailed, to limited rules applying only to the holidays of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot.

A source present at the Wednesday meeting told the Walla news site that Health Minister Yuli Edelstein and ministry Director-General Chezy Levy both urged Netanyahu to impose significant restrictions as swiftly as possible, citing the strain on the healthcare system from the spiraling number of virus cases.

According to the report, coronavirus czar Prof. Ronni Gamzu, who came into the post as a campaigner against broad lockdown measures, gave decision-makers a few options ranging from a heavy-handed lockdowns keeping people under lock and key, to just restricting movement between cities. The report said he agrees on the general need for tighter restrictions.

Health Ministry director-general Prof. Chezy Levy speaks during a press conference in Jerusalem on June 21, 2020 (Flash90)

“The Israeli public does not understand where we are heading — the wards are filling up, [healthcare workers] are burned out, and there is a great overload,” Levy told Channel 12.

“We brought forth proposals with very tight restrictions, and we intend to apply these steps just before the holidays,” said Levy.

The most heavy-handed scenario could see Israelis prevented from venturing more than 500 meters from their homes except for essential needs for three weeks, with most businesses and schools closed. Other proposals raised at the meeting suggested closures on the holidays themselves, but not throughout the entire period, with restaurants and tourist sites permitted to remain open in low-infection areas and some curbs introduced in workplaces. The proposals will be discussed at Thursday’s cabinet meeting.

Israeli police seen at the entrance to the neighborhood of Ramot in Jerusalem, as Israel enforces a nightly curfew, September 9, 2020. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

According to Channel 12, Defense Minister Benny Gantz opined during the Wednesday night meeting that Israelis would need a month of advance notice to prepare for a lockdown. It’s unclear which proposal Netanyahu favors.

Hospitals fill up

Edelstein and Levy told Netanyahu in the meeting that hospital officials have warned them that the situation is dire and could get worse without significant steps, according to Walla.

Hospitals across the country are reaching full capacity in coronavirus wards, Channel 13 reported on Wednesday night. Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek and Ziv Medical Center in Safed can only take in five more patients, while Rambam Medical Center in Haifa has room for 8-10 more COVID-19 patients, the network said.

Magen David Adom workers wearing protective clothing outside the coronavirus unit at Shaare Zedek hospital in Jerusalem, on September 7, 2020. (Nati Shohat/Flash90)

The high-level consultations came as virus cases skyrocketed, just days after the school year began and ahead of the holiday period beginning September 18.

The ministry reported 11 new deaths Wednesday, bringing the death toll to 1,054. It said over 2,700 new infections had been recorded from midnight to 10 p.m. on Wednesday. There are 31,686 active coronavirus cases in the country. The number of patients in serious condition has spiked to 477, with 142 of them on ventilators.

Clalit Health care workers take test samples of Israelis to check if they have been infected with the coronavirus in a testing center in Modiin Illit, on September 07, 2020. (Yossi Aloni/FLASH90)

The specter of a renewed lockdown comes as 40 towns and neighborhoods across the country had their second overnight curfew Wednesday, ordered by the government in an effort to slow the virus spread in areas with high infection rates. However, those measures largely went unenforced Tuesday and are seen by many as ineffective.

The nightly curfew is imposed between 7 p.m. and 5 a.m. the next day, in towns and neighborhoods with high infections rates.

Small businesses and self-employed workers earlier Wednesday threatened “anarchy,” saying that if the government decides to impose a complete lockdown on the economy, as expected in the coming weeks, they will keep their businesses open unless they are promised financial compensation in advance.