At the end of the discussion following the outbreak of the Corona virus, the PM warned: "Without adhering to the guidelines - restrictions may return".

Following the outbreak of the Corona at the "Hebrew Gymnasium" in Jerusalem, and in other schools throughout the country, and after a special meeting of the Corona Cabinet, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a special statement on Saturday. In addition, statements were made by Education Minister Yoav Galant and Finance Minister Israel Katz.

Netanyahu on renewed outbreak: "Guidelines updated, enforcement enforced" // Photo: GPO

At the outset, the prime minister said: "It is early to say if this is a general change in morbidity over the past few days - but it is not too early to say that there has been a general loosening of the discipline. Each of you sees it. It happens to all of us, me too. I saw happy television on Israel. Dancing tightly without masks, sunning tightly, joking: "The corona is over, it's behind us." 

Unfortunately, that's not true. We have great successes in the struggle, on a world scale, but the plague is not behind us. "

"As long as there is no vaccine for the virus - it will come back and spread if we do not follow the precautionary rules," Netanyahu said. "We are all expected to go back and abide by the rules. This includes me, the ministers, the Knesset members and you. If we do not, there will be no choice but to return to restrictions in the economy and in the public sphere," the prime minister warned. 

As for the moves decided at the meeting, he explained: "We will tighten the discipline that has loosened, encourage business activities that respect the rules and act against those who do not follow the rules and in fact endanger the health of us all." 

The Prime Minister emphasized that the Corona is not affected by the weather. "You have to remember: the teenager is very lethal, and unfortunately he is not over the weather either. He hits powerfully in Brazil, Peru, Mexico, Iran and Egypt. Strikes in cold countries like Sweden. Belgium also has a size similar to ours - there are close to ten thousand dead."

"We have set the next few days for test days - to see if there is a trend change that requires a policy change. At the moment, we have decided not to close all schools, and hope that we do not need to change it. Secondly - we will update the purple character of the businesses and adjust to the reality. Enforcement and enforcement of police rules. " At the same time, he said they aim to get tests and conduct proactive tests in places with high infection potential. 

In summary, he said: "The Corona is raging in the world, not missing us. If we don't keep the rules - it will come back and beat us. We need to step up our discipline, keep the rules - and with God they will keep us."

At the end of his remarks, new Finance Minister Israel Katz delivered the new plan to return activity to the economy, by incentives. According to the plan, every employer, small and large, who will take a worker back to work - will receive an incentive of NIS 7,500 from 1.6. 

Those who returned their employees in May will receive NIS 3,500. All this, provided that the employee is employed for at least four months.

"To enable the soldiers, students, part-time workers and others, we have lowered the threshold that allows them to receive the grants of NIS 3,300 a month of salary," Katz said. "The more a business employs more employees, the bigger the grant. The program will enable immediate grants to be received. The Tax Authority will already grant the grant to employers by 1.7. We were looking for an easy, easy-to-implement method. 

Education Minister Yoav Galant addressed the preparation of the education system said: "Last week there was a worrying increase. We found 137 new cases of illness in the education system. Of these - in the Hebrew Gymnasium 103 cases. After evaluating the situation, we do selective, closing and isolating actions where needed - but the system will keep moving" . 

Galant detailed the planned steps. "First is the refinement of rules - keeping distance, hygiene masks. A briefing will be conducted earlier this week for all students. Second, administrators will appoint" Corona trustees "- people who will take proper oversight, reporting, alerting, cleaning and liaising with the Ministry of Education and Health. "In addition, we will prepare a task force in each district when a corona bile is detected and we arrive immediately on site, hoping we can stop things from happening." 

The Minister of Health said this evening: "Health Minister Yuli (Joel) Edelstein regularly instructed during the holiday and returned his office staff to care for the rise in the number of patients in Corona. He also participated in all consultations with the prime minister, despite being a Sabbath keeper. Saving lives"".

Regarding the fact that he did not attend the press conference, it was stated that "the Minister of Health saw great importance in updating Israeli citizens immediately on the Sabbath, so he preferred not to delay the press conference until his arrival."

As mentioned, a short time ago, the discussion of a possible closure of the middle and high schools was ended. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held the hearing with other government ministers and other senior officials. It has been decided to close schools with an outbreak, and will not cancel all school and high school studies.

So far, it seems that at the meeting, it was decided, as stated above, to continue the studies in all educational institutions, except those that exist in the Corona eruption. A massive explanation was also given about the importance of strict adherence to the rules of remoteness, hygiene and masks. In addition, powers will be transferred to local authorities to create more effective enforcement, and enforcement on businesses will be increased. All this while continuing to perform corona tests, especially in eruption centers.

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The Ministry of Education has wanted to close upper divisions already yesterday. During the discussion today, data showed that most of the school's staff were from the Jerusalem gymnasium, and therefore determined that no general closure was required. The Ministry of Health also said that it was too early to decide on the closure of all divisions and high schools, and the closing date is a correct step. 

The Ministry of Education said: "So far, the system has 145 verified patients, teaching staff and students. Of that total, 103 are teaching staff and sick students from the Jerusalem Gymnasium. That is, about 75% of the system's patients are from the school itself, the Jerusalem Gymnasium. It was also decided that the education system would continue to operate as a routine, with a focused reference to educational institutions where high morbidity rates would be found. "

A snapshot released by the Education Ministry shows that 487 students and 100 teaching staff are in isolation so far, seven schools and ten kindergartens have closed. So far, 107 students and kindergarten children, most of them from the Jerusalem gymnasium. Also, 36 teaching staff and three assistants were found to be ill.