Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the nation on Saturday night to announce a series of steps seeking to gradually ease the limitations imposed on public life and economic activity over the coronavirus pandemic.
The partial lifting of restrictions will begin on Sunday and the Health Ministry will carefully monitor the move's impact on Israel's COVID-19 morbidity and mortality rates.
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The ministry confirmed Saturday that 13,265 Israelis have been diagnosed with the virus. So far, 164 people have died from the disease and 3,247 have recovered.
Netanyahu said that Israel is ranked "very highly among OECD states with respect to how it has been handling the coronavirus. The mortality rate is among the lowest among OECD states and the rate of testing is among the highest in the world."
The prime minister noted that "until now, we have taken measures to restrict movement, to reduce the number of people in workplaces and to track confirmed cases. These measures have proven themselves and the positive results we see enable us to gradually ease the restrictions.
The change in economic activity – reduced to mere 15% as part of the efforts to curb the outbreak – will allow most workers in the manufacturing and service industries to return to work, albeit they will have to wear masks and practice social distancing as much as possible within the workplace.
Small businesses such as home furnishings, electronics, bookstores, office supplies, and opticians will be allowed to resume operations as well.
At this time, however, the school system will remain shuttered with the exception of special-needs students, who will resume their activities in groups of no more than three and on alternate days.
Shopping malls, restaurants, toy stores, beauty and hair salons, and clothing stores will also have to remain closed at this time.
Following widespread protests in the ultra-Orthodox sector, the government has decided to once again allow outdoor prayers for up to 10 people, providing social distancing is maintained.
While this measure was allowed in the early stages of the restriction imposed on public life, it was soon canceled after Haredi communities in Jerusalem and central Israel proved coronavirus hotspots, requiring the Health Ministry to place them under strict quarantine, enforced by the police and military.
While Israelis have so far been allowed to venture no more than 100 meters (330 feet) outside their home, as of Sunday, sporting activity will be allowed, in no more than pairs, as far as 500 meters (1,600 feet) from one's home. The basketball and soccer leagues will not be allowed to resume activities at this time.
Netanyahu noted that these measures seek to allow economic activity to double to 30%.
As part of these measures, public transportation, deceased to a bare minimum over the past few weeks, will be adjusted accordingly.
He noted that the government will assess the situation in two weeks and if continued improvement is shown, more restrictions will be lifted. However, if the outbreak flares up, tougher restrictions will be reimposed.
Netanyahu said that given Health Ministry directives, events marking Israel's Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terrorism Remembrance Day and Independence Day, slated for late April, will take place without crowds.
Health Ministry Director Moshe Bar Siman-Tov followed Netanyahu's statement and urged Israelis not to see the impending easing of restriction as a license to flout public health directives, all of which would have to be even doubly heeded.
He noted that individuals in high-risk groups - those with coronary disease, high blood pressure and people who have been hospitalized in the last six months – cannot return to work at this time.
He also reiterated that it is mandatory to wear a face mask and to maintain a social distancing in and outside of the workplace.
Rounding off his statement, Netanyahu touched on the negotiation for a unity government with the Blue and White party.
"Until we find a vaccine for the coronavirus we will have to live with a coronavirus routine. For that reason, I will continue to work toward a national unity government. I'm working around the clock to fight the coronavirus and I have seen that a national unity government is the only way to achieve victory in this battle.
"I want unity, all the rest is [a media] spin," he said.
Earlier, Channel 12 News quoted Blue and White insiders as saying that party leader Benny Gantz told confidants that "a significant breakthrough" has been made in the unity negotiations with Likud.
