Israelis should be allowed to meet with at-risk populations despite the coronavirus pandemic as long as proper precautions are taken, the Health Ministry said in a draft of proposed guidelines on Sunday.
According to the guidelines, which are set to come up for a cabinet vote on Monday, Israelis who have reached old age would be allowed to meet their family members despite being at a higher risk of developing severe symptoms of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
Rather than be in self-isolation, they will be able to meet with their children and grandchildren if they take "extensive preventative steps." It is unclear what these steps are to include.
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The new guidelines are part of a nationwide plan to reopen the remaining parts of the country that are still under lockdown orders.
Under the plan, social gatherings of up to 10 people will be permitted, so long as social distancing measures are upheld and people wear masks. Shopping malls may reopen on May 17 if the plan is approved, so long as people can be electronically monitored and that crowd control measures are in place.
Preschools and kindergartens are set to open next week. Likewise, gyms will be able to operate normally if they allow no more than 10 people inside their premises.
The Health Ministry has also proposed letting professional athletes hold matches in public parks in the coming weeks.
Officials at the ministry stressed that a nationwide lockdown may get reimposed if several red flags are noticed, including a sudden surge in the coronavirus incidence levels or some other indication of major community spread of COVID-19.
One such indicator is a daily increase of 300 new coronavirus cases, or a reproduction rate – the time it takes for the virus incidence level to double – being smaller than 10 days.
"We must not become complacent, the entire picture can change in days," Health Ministry Director General Moshe Bar Siman Tov said on Sunday.
