This article was published before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement on Saturday evening.
Hours before the Israeli government’s decision on the steps it will impose on Israeli citizens tonight to curb the progress of the coronavirus, various government ministries have been issuing largely calming messages. With 178 individuals in quarantine as of Saturday (Update: over 200 by midnight), word is that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering gradual rather than extreme closures.
“The supermarkets will remain open,” said health ministry director Moshe Bar Siman Tov, suggesting “there’s no need to storm them. The system is being prepared [for action] but in every possible scenario, the supermarkets will remain open. I ask the public to act responsibly and to listen to instructions given by the authorities.”
The Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement saying: “Food establishments in Israel will continue to work normally. The supermarket chains maintain large stocks, food imports to Israel continue, creating a large inventory, so there is no need or justification for hoarding food. Also, access to supermarket and pharmacy chains will continue.”
A source in the Bank of Israel told Channel 13 News: “Even if the bank branches are closed, the ATMs will work fully and there won’t be a shortage of cash.”
Restaurants, cafes and shopping malls will most likely be closed to the public, but deliveries will be allowed, with contact between delivery person and customer being kept to a minimum (place the tips in plastic bags).
Public transportation is probably going to be curtailed, if not completely shut down.
The IDF spokesman announced on Saturday that in accordance with the health ministry’s guidelines and recommendations, all servicemen will return to their base on Sunday. There will be no early returns to the military bases except for pre-approved exceptions. All the soldiers in combat units, training bases and special forces will arrive at their bases prepared for an extended stay of up to one month.
Defense Minister Naftali Bennett instructed the National Emergency Authority to complete the mapping of essential facilities in the state of Israel, and work out a plan for operating the economy on an emergency basis. The recommendations will be presented to the minister at the next meeting.
The defense minister also authorized the director general of the defense ministry, General (res.) Udi Adam, to manage community convalescence units, in coordination with the home front command and the health ministry.
The National Insurance Institute (Israel’s social security administration) reported that its director general, Meir Spiegeler, “instructed all professional staff and branch managers across the country to respond to citizens’ inquiries about their rights, focusing on unemployment benefit claims due to dismissal or forced leave for 30 days or more.”
The institute will significantly increase service over the phone, which citizens are asked to use without coming to the branches and stand in lines unnecessarily. The public is also encouraged to use all the available online facilities for their inquiries.
The prime minister’s office has been in discussions regarding the needed steps to secure the public’s health and the economy in this time of crisis with representatives of the hotels association, small business association, farmers’ association, craft and industry association, security companies, cleaning companies, the banks’ association, insurance companies’ association, and human resources companies. They met with the director general of the prime minister’s office, the director general of the ministry of finance, and the chairman of the national council of economics and the chairman of the tax authority.
They were asked how prepared each sector of the economy was for a scenario in which only the most essential services remain available, as compared with a scenario where the economy is working at 30% of normal output with the complete shutdown of public transportation. They were asked if they could provide independent transportation to deliver essential personnel to essential workplaces.
Representatives of the high-tech companies in Israel noted that they would have no problem moving employees to a home-based operation, however, they expressed concern that their broadband service would fail due to an unusual volume of data traffic, leading to the suspension of their activity.
It is a warning that may become a nationwide reality in the very near future, as 8 million Israelis are expected to spend their days in front of their computer screens. Italians under the coronavirus restrictions have discovered wonderful ways to revive the tradition of neighborhood narrow-casting.
Sicily has figured out this whole self-isolation thing. pic.twitter.com/93whPVtQcR
— John Nichols (@NicholsUprising)