Bennett, taking harder line than government, tells public to stay away from grandma

Taking a harder line that the government limitations on gatherings, Yamina leader Naftali Bennett says that Israelis should refrain from visiting their grandparents in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus to the elderly population.

“I am instructing you here: Do not meet grandparents in a closed apartment,” Bennett, who served as defense minister for the start of the coronavirus outbreak, says during an interview with Galei Yisrael radio.

“But that’s contrary to the Health Ministry guidelines,” says the interviewer.

“I’m now just giving my own instruction to listeners. Do what you want with it,” Bennett responds.

Bennett, who since joining the opposition has increasingly become a critic of the government’s response to the outbreak, yesterday set up what he called the “civilian coronavirus cabinet”  to “present ways of dealing with the economic and medical crisis, and assist with communicating information to the public, and recommendations for reducing the harm to the economy.”