Finance Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday he opposed returning to a nationwide lockdown despite a surge in new coronavirus cases, citing the economic pressures of a prolonged closure.
"We will not compromise on health considerations but we will not return to a situation where the economy will be closed," Katz told a news conference.
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He argued that increased enforcement of existing rules, which include wearing masks and social distancing, was more reasonable for the time being than a shutdown.
More than 1,500 Israelis have been infected with COVID-19 in the past two days, bringing the number of current cases to nearly 8,000.
The pandemic has jolted Israel's economy. Over a million Israelis filed for jobless benefits and the unemployment rate stands at 21%, despite close to 400,000 workers having returned to their jobs, according to official data.
Katz said the economy had lost 60 billion shekels ($17.4 billion) in tax revenue and the finance ministry projects a 5.4% economic contraction in 2020, which would be the first annual contraction in Israel's history.
The country has already approved a 100 billion shekel ($29 billion) stimulus package and Katz said he would work to prevent layoffs while encouraging professional retraining.
He said he supported a single-year 2020 budget instead of the dual-year budget agreed on in the recent coalition deal between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and rival turned partner Benny Gantz.
Katz said the budget would be approved by September and be what he called responsible – no tax hikes and no spending cuts that would harm the public.
"It will be a growth-biased budget," he said. "We will increase everything that will encourage growth."
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