In what was his first press conference as coronavirus chief, Nachman Ash presented a sober view of the pandemic situation in Israel, Thursday. Ash predicted the virus would be with us for a long time and raised the possibility Israel would enter a third lockdown before the pandemic was over.
Although Israel was in a race to bring over vaccines, Ash said this would take time.
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"There are difficult days ahead. It won't be easy or short, and my assessment is that the corona will be here for another year, and we need to prepare for that. As for the question, when will there be a third lockdown – it's on the table and it depends on the data and on us. The data is a reflection of our behavior, and now it's worrying. The reproduction rate is higher than one. There could be a deterioration that leads to a lockdown, and I will not hesitate to recommend a national lockdown."
Ash later went on to detail his plans for a "corona routine" that includes health authorizations for people who adhere to the guidelines.
"My job is to protect you," he went on. "But I have to allow you a reasonable routine life. Therefore, over the next year, I will lead a series of moves that will allow us that until the vaccines arrive. We will create a 'green passport' for people whose risk of infection is lower, and they will receive the passport, as well as those who recovered from it. The traffic light won't just be for regions, but for people as well."
Health Ministry chief Hezi Levy also held a press conference on Thursday, in which noted that "as of today, there are 15 red authorities and more orange ones. This serves the restrictions based on the traffic light plan that will be implemented next week," Levy said. He noted that the basic reproduction rate in Israel, which stands at 1.06, was higher than planned for rolling back restrictions at this stage.
According to Hezi, the state would not initiate a lockdown over Hanukkah without reason.
He said, "We will track the morbidity and the repercussions of rolling back every restriction. Whether it's in the market place and shopping, or cultural social activity or leisure. Wherever the increase in morbidity is higher than expected … we will need to contemplate imposing restrictions."
As for possible opposition to immunization, Levy reiterated the state would not mandate vaccination, but would rather work to convince people to do so.
"There are those who are warning against vaccination, and I must object. The vaccine that arrives will be safe, I hope. We must not let this lead to complacency. We must ensure proper conduct to prevent infection," he said.
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