Corona Superintendent Prof. Gamzo warns: "Within a week the hospitals will reach the threshold of capacity" • Minister Deri: "I will not stay in the government that will ban prayers on Yom Kippur and allow demonstrations" • Senior in blue and white: "We insist on continuing demonstrations in Balfour"
The Corona Cabinet will convene today (Wednesday) for a follow-up meeting, at which a decision is expected to be made on tightening the closure across the country for the coming weeks.
At the heart of the discussion will be the outline that will restrict prayers in synagogues on Yom Kippur, as well as the demonstrations held near the Prime Minister's House in Jerusalem.
Gamzo statement ahead of the second closure // Photo: Knesset Spokeswoman
The new definitions will be formulated this morning by professional teams from the Ministries of Health, Justice and Homeland Security.
They will examine the extent of the well-known morbidity in both synagogues and demonstrations as well as the enforcement needs of the police.
The recommendations will be presented at 10:00 to Ministers Edelstein (Health), Ohana (Internal Security) and Nissenkorn (Laws), and after the ministerial team examines them and approves them they will be uploaded to the Corona Cabinet.
The hearing to be held today was preceded yesterday by a meeting of the Corona Cabinet that lasted for many hours.
Although the discussion dealt with restrictions on the entire economy, a debate arose among the ministers on the question of continuing the demonstrations in front of the Prime Minister's House, and the continued holding of prayers in synagogues.
It should be noted that the proposal to impose a uniform outline on the professional echelon for prayers and demonstrations was raised by Minister Gabi Ashkenazi, and was adopted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Prime Minister's Office says that the intention is to reach a state of "one law" regarding prayers and demonstrations.
A senior official in blue and white told Israel Today that Blue and White "insist on allowing the demonstrations to take place even if within certain limits, and even if it means a uniform law for all gatherings."
Minister Aryeh Deri said at the hearing: "We are a Jewish and democratic state and for me the Jewish one precedes the democratic one. A government that closes synagogues on Yom Kippur but allows demonstrations is not a Jewish government, so if such an outline is approved, I will not stay in it."
Deri added that money should be invested in the purchase of barbecues and lighting for the synagogues so that it will be possible to pray outside.
At the same time, the corona commissioner, Prof. Gamzo, presented a worrying situation in the corona cabinet.
During the discussion, Prof. Gamzo presented to the government the options he would recommend as part of tightening the closure.
The string of strict restrictions includes not only the issues of synagogues on Yom Kippur and the demonstrations in Balfour.
He also proposed a 50% reduction in private sector employment and a move to a public-sector emergency, as well as a complete closure of markets (including the four-species market).
The forecast presented by Gamzo to the cabinet is that within a week the state will reach 800 critically ill patients - the number defined as the hospital's sufficient money.
Although the question of demonstrations and prayers has attracted the bulk of the ministers' attention, the more significant decisions of the cabinet will affect the whole economy, including in the fields of aviation and transportation.
At the same time, Prime Minister Netanyahu and Finance Minister Israel Katz agreed on a plan to preserve the private business sector open during the closure period, while fully adhering to the purple mark and preventing contagion.
This plan is also expected to receive corona cabinet approval today.
"Target not enough"
Meanwhile, ministers who are not members of the Corona Cabinet have called for tougher decisions.
Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz sent another proposal to the Corona Cabinet.
He said, "The target of 1,000 infected per day as a way out of quarantine is insufficient. This leaves Israel as a red state according to the accepted standards in Europe of one million patients and does not allow effective follow-up and amputation of infection chains. To be in the 100th zone, maximum 200 ".
Minister Yoaz Handel called for a ban on both prayers and demonstrations.
"In such a crisis, common sense is required: without mass prayers and without mass demonstrations. Prayer is important in a Jewish state, demonstration is important in a democratic state. Mental supervision rejects everyone," Handel said.
At the same time, Chief of Staff Lt. Col. Aviv Kochavi visited Haifa and Daliyat al-Carmel with the commander of the Home Front Command, Major General Uri Gordin.
Kochavi visited, among other things, the Daliyat al-Carmel council building and the PA operating center and the PA's emergency warehouses.
Later, he visited the Crisis Management Center in Haifa.
"Leadership here is evident," said Lt. Col. Kochavi. "We identify two major challenges in dealing with the Corona: non-compliance with guidelines and the ability to isolate the verified and those who come in contact with them.
In these two issues, the issue of leadership is the most significant.
In places where there is a strong spine, the result is completely different to the positive.
A large part of the response is in our hands. "
Lilach Shoval participated in the preparation of the article