Quit your dangerous Passover cavorting, Health Ministry chief pleads

The country’s health czar is warning Israelis against backsliding away from practicing social distancing and observing quarantine restrictions, saying the coronavirus could come back with a vengeance.

“I understand it’s hard to stay at home for so long and the public has proven and is proving its ability to keep to the regulations and protect everyone’s families,” Health Ministry director Moshe Bar Siman-Tov says in a statement.

Sunday’s warm and sunny weather, coupled with the Passover holiday spirit, led many to venture outside, despite restrictions meant to keep people close to their homes and away from others. This writer saw several families taking nature hikes together near Jerusalem, in contravention of rules.

Siman-Tov warned that “getting together over the holiday endangers all of our lives. We’ve seen what happened in other countries where discipline flagged and we need to be disciplined the whole time in order to get to those situations.”

Health Ministry officials had reportedly wanted to extend a ban on intercity travel until the end of Passover on Wednesday, but were shot down by Treasury officials.

Lower numbers of new infections and hospitalizations in recent days have sparked cautious optimism that some restrictions on the economy could be rolled back as early as next week.