Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday urged the Israeli public to adhere to Health Ministry directives concerning the coronavirus outbreak in order to avoid a full lockdown.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the Health Ministry confirmed 433 cases of COVID-19 in Israel. Six patients are in serious condition and 12 have recovered. Over 50,000 Israelis are currently under home quarantine.
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On Tuesday, the Health Ministry instructed Israelis not to leave their homes unless absolutely necessary – a dramatic step up from previous directives gradually limiting public gatherings with the aim of curbing the outbreak.
The new restrictions were issued after many Israelis flouted the limitations placed on public gatherings and flocked to the beach, parks, and malls. As of Tuesday afternoon, the public has been ordered not to go out to parks, playgrounds, the beach, pools, libraries, museums or any other public venue.
Speaking with Channel 12 News, Netanyahu said that while he would prefer to avoid imposing a full public lockdown, he will not hesitate to authorize punitive measures, such as hefty fines, against those who violate the Health Ministry's directives.
"Our situation is better than that of most countries around the world and we need to make sure it stays that way," Netanyahu explained at the beginning of the interview. "We have issued clear guidelines of what we expect from people – don't to go unless it's for essential things like getting supplies.
"I prefer that the public understand and follow these directives. I also call on the ultra-Orthodox and Arab communities, which don't seem to grasp the situation, to follow them," he said.
The PM said that if the public continues to defy the Health Ministry's orders he would not hesitate to sign an emergency executive order to enforce them.
"We have so far don't everything we could and Israel is one of three-four countries to do relatively well [in terms of the scope of the outbreak] but people can't see this as a vacation.
"We were one step ahead of the world in closing borders, in [ordering] extensive home quarantine, in limiting public gatherings and in using digital tools that have now been activated," he said, referring to the emergency order allowing the Shin Bet security agency to track coronavirus patients for a limited period of time.
"I have to say that other countries are also praising our policies," Netanyahu told Channel 12 News. "The US chief scientist has lauded our policies, and other countries, like New Zealand, praise it and are now following suit."
Addressing the criticism voiced over Israel's somewhat sluggish start to test for the coronavirus and the limited testing so far, Netanyahu said, "I asked that by this Sunday we have 3,000 tests [a day]. By next Sunday, I asked for 5,000 tests, and I instructed that by the following Sunday, we should reach 10,000 tests. I believe they [hospitals and laboratories nationwide] will meet this objective."
Still, "you can't test the entire population, that's not done anywhere in the world," the prime minister stressed.
Netanyahu reiterated that he would prefer to avoid ordering a full public lockdown, saying such a move "would cause the economy to collapse. We will be able to stop this pandemic if the public understands this [Health Ministry directives] is a matter of life and death.
"If people think they [the directives] are optional, we won't be able to contain this outbreak. Every member of the public has to act responsibly and follow these guidelines."
