Health Minister Yuli Edelstein says gatherings on the upcoming Jewish holiday of Purim will be limited to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
He says this year’s holiday, usually marked with raucous parties and celebrations, will see “the joy be very limited, without gatherings, without dancing, and without Purim masks, but rather with the masks we’ve grown accustomed to.”
But he says a final decision has yet to be made.
“We’re very concerned, but we don’t yet have a practical recommendation. There’s still time, we will assess the morbidity and will announce close to the holiday whether there will be restrictions and what they will be,” says Edelstein.
Purim begins in the evening of February 25, with the exception of Jerusalem, where it starts on the 27th.
Israelis dressed up in costumes for the Jewish festival of Purim in downtown Jerusalem on February 27, 2018. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
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