WHAT'S THE USE OF HAVING COVID-19 GUIDELINES IF THE PUBLIC WON'T FOLLOW THEM? IF NO ONE IS ENFORCING THEM?

Israeli Cabinet approves drastic measures to curb coronavirus infection rate

 

Israel Hayom

July 6, 2020

 

The government announced new mandatory shutdown of gyms and pools on Monday, as well as limits on the number of people in synagogues, restaurants and other venues.

The measures are to be fast-tracked by the Knesset as early as Monday and are essentially a return to some of the restrictions that had been in place during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

The number of people visiting restaurants will now be limited to 20 indoors and 30 outdoors; the number of worshippers attending prayer services will be capped at 19 and the number of passengers on buses must not exceed 20. Summer camps will be canceled as well.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Israel has reached 30,162, the Health Ministry said Monday, with 817 patients diagnosed over the past 24 hours. According to the ministry's data, 332 Israelis have died from COVID-19 disease and 17,974 have recovered from it.

So far, 11,563,642 people worldwide have contracted the virus, which has claimed 536,880 lives. According to the World Health organization, some 6,538,541 people have recovered from it.

The Health Ministry said that 4.6% of corona tests have come back positive compared to 2.5% last month. There are currently 11,664 active cases and 17,752 tests have been performed since Sunday.

Since the beginning of the outbreak, Israel has performed over a million tests for the coronavirus. Some 40,000 Israelis have been asked to self-isolate after coming in contact with a verified patient.

The new effort to stem the second wave of the pandemic, which many healthcare professionals warn is quickly spiraling out of control, has come amid concern that hospitals may not cope with the rising number of patients.

Finance Minister Israel Katz told Army Radio that at this time the restrictions will stop short of another nationwide lockdown.

Also on Monday, the military has canceled reservists' training scheduled for the coming weeks, in an effort to keep the virus from dealing a blow to the armed forces.

Currently, 447 soldiers and officers have been infected with COVID-19 and 240 have recovered from it. Some 5,000 soldiers and officers are currently isolated over potential exposure to the virus.

The military has also assigned 300 soldiers to help the Health Ministry with its epidemiological queries of patients.

On Sunday evening, 220 corona patients were diagnosed in a yeshiva in Bnei Brak, prompting rabbis of all streams to urge the ultra-Orthodox public to abide by Health Ministry guidelines.

The rabbis have reportedly formed a special rabbinical court to discuss the fate of seminaries that fail to meet the necessary criteria and that may be shuttered.
Fifteen yeshivas [Orthodox Jewish schools and colleges] have been defined as "ticking time bombs" and may have to close down, one rabbi said. 

 

'We haven't reached the point of no return'

Meanwhile, a Health Ministry official warned that "unless serious steps are taken at this time, we'll have to impose far more serious restrictions later."

Health Minister Yuli Edelstein leveled harsh criticism at the public over its lax discipline, telling the other members of the so-called corona cabinet, "What's the use having guidelines if the public won't follow them? If no one is enforcing them?"

He warned that unless the government takes significant steps and the public follows social distancing guidelines, the ministers may find that they have no choice but to impose a second nationwide lockdown.

Professor Galia Rahav, head of the Infectious Disease Unit at the Sheba Medical Center, told Israel Hayom that observing social distancing in the only way to avoid a full-scale economic closure.

"We haven't reached the point of no return," she said. "I'm sure no one wants another lockdown but that means strict enforcement of social distancing guidelines."

Israel last week again tasked the Shin Bet domestic intelligence agency to track the location of coronavirus patients as means of assisting the Health Ministry's epidemiological probes.

As of Monday morning, tens of thousands of Israelis have received text messages advising them they have been exposed to COVID-19 patients and ordering them to self-isolate.

The text messages, sent the Health Ministry, state the exact time and place where close contact with a person carrying the disease had occurred, however, a growing number of Israelis claim that the tracking process is incorrect.

According to Channel 12 News, some have even refused to heed the quarantine orders, something healthcare officials said was "utterly unacceptable" as it "endangers the public."

According to the emergency directive approved by the government, violating quarantine is punishable by a fine of 5,000 shekels ($1,450) and potentially up to six months in jail.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Like the United States, like Israel.