Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said at the start of Sunday’s weekly cabinet meeting: “We are currently entering the eye of the storm, the most complex days of this wave. Omicron has already reached almost every home and many of us, including Cabinet ministers, are verified cases.”
According to the Health Ministry, on Saturday, 39,422 Israelis tested positive for Corona. As of Sunday, there are 386 Corona patients in serious condition, 115 of them are critical, 93 ventilated, and 11 on Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machines (ECMO). Altogether, 200,623 are quarantined.
The prime minister said: “We in the Government prepared well for this moment and are continuing to take action and closely manage these complex days in order to keep the health system and the Israeli economy functioning as much as possible.”
“This morning I am pleased to tell you that by the weekend another significant shipment of drugs from Pfizer will arrive in Israel,” Bennet said, adding, “I would like to thank Pfizer CEO, my friend, Albert Bourla for the assistance.”
So now it appears Mr. Bourla has befriended every Israeli premier since 2009.
Bennett also reported that 520,814 seniors have already received the fourth dose of the vaccine, which he said was a great achievement. “This is the highest number in the world,” the PM boasted. “The State of Israel is vaccinating its most vulnerable citizens.”
“We promised the arrival of millions of additional antigen tests,” Bennett reported. “We are protecting retirement homes as tightly as possible. We are seeing to it that those in quarantine do not pay an economic price for their quarantine, and are looking after those who have been directly harmed by the situation. I know that these are difficult weeks; we will get through them together just as we got through Delta. This will not go on forever.”
“Friends, this is a government of actions that has put the citizens of Israel front and center,” Bennett concluded the cheerleading segment of his short speech. “Our government does not point out problems; it solves them. Therefore, all of the various political analysts, with their graphs and scenarios, can rest assured. The Government of Israel is working and will continue to work quietly and effectively, day after day, for the citizens of Israel.”
PM Bennett, who used to serve as Minister for the Diaspora in one of PM Netanyahu’s former governments, took the time to update his minister on the hostage situation in Texas: “This morning, I received the good news that the hostages in Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas have been rescued. I want to thank the law enforcement agencies for their swift response and courageous action that brought the hostages home safely to their loved ones.”
He added: “This event is a stark reminder that the dark forces of antisemitism still exist. We must and we will fight them. To the Jewish community in the US and Diaspora Jewry around the world, I say: You are not alone. We are one family and we stand strong and united together.”
