Gantz: Likud spreading false reports about coronavirus to hurt Blue and White

Blue and White chairmen Benny Gantz accuses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party of spreading fake reports about the coronavirus in a bid to suppress turnout on election day among Blue and White voters.

“It doesn’t bother the Likud propagandists to promote with all [their] strength the message that there’s the coronavirus in Givatayim. Did you ask yourselves why in fact Givatayim. Because it’s a stronghold of Blue and White,” Gantz writes on Twitter.

He adds: “This is exactly what Netanyahu intends to do tomorrow. He intends to disrupt election day, spread fake news in every area identified with Blue and White.”

Gantz was referring to reports that parts of a mall in the Tel Aviv suburb were closed due to suspicions someone was infected with the virus. In the last elections, 50.32 percent of votes cast in Givatayim went to Blue and White.

The Health Ministry said the man, who had returned to Israel from the US by way of Italy, reported not feeling well and that he was examined by medical personnel.

“There’s no hindrance to go to the mall in Givatayim and to continue [one’s] daily routine,” the ministry said in a statement. “The Health Ministry doesn’t put out statements on suspected [carriers of the virus] or those who were examined but only about verified cases.”

Gantz visited the mall after the reports.

הגענו לקניון גבעתיים, אין כאן קורונה. עם זאת, יש להקשיב להנחיות משרד הבריאות. לא ניתן לפייק ניוז להרתיע אותנו. pic.twitter.com/3F906bnIpn

— בני גנץ – Benny Gantz (@gantzbe) March 1, 2020