The plan to possibly impose a nationwide lockdown during the upcoming High Holiday period due to surging coronavirus cases is causing disagreement within the cabinet, according to leaks published by Hebrew media.
Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton, who has courted controversy by calling plans to vaccinate students in schools a “crime,” said during a cabinet meeting that the option of a lockdown must be “taken off the agenda,” according to reports.
“There are [reservation] cancellations and people are anxious for… their livelihood,” she reportedly says. “We have seen the charts — it doesn’t matter whether countries imposed lockdown or not, the morbidity charts look the same.”
Intelligence Minister Elazar Stern concurs: “We need to eliminate the word ‘lockdown’ from our lexicon. We are causing people to live under threat.”
Hamad Amar, a minister in the Finance Ministry, notes that Australia is currently in its eighth lockdown yet cases are still on the rise, claiming that “lockdown isn’t a solution.”
Other ministers emphasize the need for a lockdown and the importance of talking publicly about a lockdown before imposing one.
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From the Liveblog of
Sunday, August 8, 2021
