Service industry reels as guidelines force restaurants, some stores to shutter
Owners lament new measures, say they should be allowed to serve up to 10 customers at a time, and more governmental help needed; many shops close altogether
The Israeli service industry was reeling on Sunday as Health Ministry guidelines requiring the shuttering of thousands of stores throughout the country went into effect in a government effort to contain the coronavirus outbreak.
“We have been here for 66 years and not once have I ever closed the doors of the restaurant,” Liron Keren, who owns the Rahmo restaurant in Jerusalem’s Mahane Yehuda market, told Channel 12. “This is a very tough blow for us. I can understand the whole health situation, but to close the business totally seems to be indescribably crazy.”
The Health Ministry overnight Saturday issued its most stringent set of guidelines, including banning gatherings of more than ten people. All educational institutions were ordered shut down starting Sunday, regardless of the number of children per classroom, among them daycare centers — including home daycares — special education, youth movements and after-school programs.
It also said that, save for supermarkets and pharmacies, all malls would be closed. Restaurants and hotel dining rooms will also be shuttered — aside from those that provide takeout — along with bars, pubs and dance clubs.
Gyms, pools, water and amusement parks, zoos and petting zoos, ritual baths for men, beauty and massage salons, event and conference venues, public boats and cable cars, and heritage sites are also closed. All sporting events have been canceled.
For now, people are still allowed to go to work — though workplaces have been encouraged to prepare to facilitate work from home — but must maintain a distance of two meters from one another.
“What will happen after the coronavirus passes? Who will take care of us then?” Keren wondered aloud. She compared the current situation to when terror attacks that hit Jerusalem during the Second Intifada. “At least then, we were still able to make some money. Now, not even a dime.”
“What can I tell my employees? ‘Go talk to social security?'”
Galia Avihail, the owner of Cafe Avihail in Jerusalem, argued that restaurants should be at least allowed to serve ten people, given that Health Ministry guidelines allow that many people to congregate in other places.
“From the government and local authorities, I expect help rather than delays. For example, we were informed that [some tax] payments could be delayed for a month. As far as I’m concerned, this is ostensible short-term help, but in the long run it only causes us harm. Postponing payment is no help — only eliminating taxes would help,” Avihail told Channel 12.
Jacob, who owns the Kanaf restaurant also located in Mahane Yehuda, told Channel 12 that he was going to be forced to lay off employees due to the ordered closure. “The hope is that businesses will return to normal as soon as possible, but once a closure is announced, we have to downsize.”
“We expect the government and local authorities to help small businesses,” he added.
While the new guidelines did not specifically bar clothing stores from keeping their doors open, the 10-person gathering limit substantially handcuffed such shop-owners and many had decided it was best to temporarily close down.
The Castro-Hoodies clothing line announced that it was closing all of its stores throughout the country and that its 6,000 employees would be placed on unpaid leave.
The Zara retailer also announced that it would be closing its stores due to the new Health Ministry guidelines. The Big Fashion department store said that its stores in Beit Shemesh, Tiberias, Yarka and Bat Yam would shutter while its other branches would remain open for the time being.
The Walla news site reported that dozens of parents were organizing to demand a refund from daycare centers, which were also ordered closed on Sunday.
The Jerusalem municipality said in a Hebrew statement Saturday night that it would adhere to the new regulations, noting that public libraries would remain open for lending only, while limiting the number of people allowed to enter to ten at a time. It confirmed that all restaurants and entertainment venues would be closed, save for kitchens that offered takeout services, which would be limited to ten workers. It also said its own workers would begin to work from home, other than field workers who would continue as usual.
The city of Tel Aviv put out a similar statement confirming that all public activities would be shut down, including in gyms, community centers and on the beaches, where there would be no lifeguard services. It added, however, that municipal workers would continue to provide sanitation and security services, while limiting enforcement of bylaws to severe cases.
On Saturday night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and government officials announced the shutdown of all leisure businesses and activities throughout the country, with the premier pressing upon the public the need to “adopt a new way of life” for the coming weeks and possibly months as the country deals with the new coronavirus — and particularly underlining a guiding principle of individuals maintaining a distance of at least two meters from others at all times.
The number of Israelis diagnosed with coronavirus rose to 200 on Sunday morning.
