Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu late Thursday night told the Coronavirus cabinet that he is planning to flatten the pandemic’s curve and reopen the economy, which would require some exceptional steps.
“In recent days, we have dealt mainly with the economic issue, including the effort to submit a long-term plan for businesses and the self-employed and incentives that we want to give to the economy for consumption in the immediate term,” Netanyahu said. “But before anything else, I would like – by next Thursday, one week from today – every minister to submit their ministry’s plan for the safe opening up of the economy. It is a week. I am asking you to get organized because our goal is to flatten the curve, to gain control and to effect a safe exit from this phase, from this wave.”
The PM continued:
We are making every effort to avoid a general lockdown. We are working at the coronavirus’s pace. We do not have many choices; it is not a normal situation. This is not a situation in which we can do all these processes that take days and hope that everything will be fine. The disease is changing speed and we must change together with it.
The steps that we are submitting here, the recommendations, mainly include the way to stop gatherings, to prevent gatherings in closed spaces of over 10 people and of over 20 in open spaces. This is not scientific. There are always exceptions. However, this is our direction – to prevent such gatherings.
The alternative to the steps that we take today – is much harsher steps tomorrow, which we are trying to avoid. It could be that we will have no choice and then we will take them, but at the moment we are trying to make quick and joint decisions. It is very important that we unite around these decisions. The Cabinet has a collective obligation. People can always express their opinions as I am certain will be done this evening as well. I understand you. I request that you do so in a substantive and succinct manner. The important thing is that once a decision, or decisions, is or are made, we all stand behind them. This is the minimum required of any government, especially one in such a crisis.