The Finance Ministry on Tuesday issued an updated projection for the toll the coronavirus-triggered lockdown is expected to take on the economy, revising it from 20 billion shekels ($5.7 billion) to about NIS 12 billion ($3.4 billion).
Chief Economist Shira Greenberg said that the government's decision to include more industries in the "essential" list, effectively allowing them to operate in a reduced capacity rather than shutter has mitigated the lockdown's impact on the economy.
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She did, however, caution that any extension of the lockdown will require the Treasury to again revise its projections.
To further mitigate the situation, the Finance Ministry's Budgets Division has been able to broker a deal with the Histadrut labor federation, by which all nonessential public sector employees will go on organized leave for the duration of the High Holidays.
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