Routes are busy as usual, queues at Ben Gurion Airport, citizens walking the streets without wearing masks and open businesses as usual - some do not even try to hide • Enforcement? It already depends on where you live • Mali, resident of Eilat: "Our days have turned gray and depressing "
It seems that the material fatigue felt by the Israeli public and the need for sanity all drained into the first day of the third closure, which began today (Monday).
They were manifested in almost normal traffic loads, many people on the streets - some without demonstrations - and businesses, mainly fast food, operating unhindered and unenforceable.
Following the spike in morbidity: Israel entered a third closure yesterday // Photo: Paz Bar, Newsenders, Yoni Rickner
Tel Aviv: Regular business
This morning the many people walking the streets could not be ignored.
Travelers continued to arrive in the city and food store owners continued with the sophistication of the second closure - deliveries a few meters from the store.
There were also restaurants and cafes that received special permits to continue operating, such as the new bolognese branch in Rothschild "Mason Kaiser" that operates as a bakery, where long queues were recorded this morning as well.
Yuan Samadja, CEO of the chain: “This is not an ideal time to start a business, but we did not want to postpone the project.
These are days when nothing is taken for granted, and that is what gave us the drive to continue in full force. "
The traffic congestion on the city streets continued, and most of the city's residents took advantage of the opportunity to go out for sports activities that are allowed.
The Charles Clore area and the promenade in Tel Aviv were full of trainees, enforcement in the city was not felt during the day, especially in front of citizens who walked around without a mask and businesses that acted contrary to guidelines.
Jerusalem: observant
There was sparse traffic throughout the capital today.
At the entrance to the Jaffa Gate, which was closed once more, a police checkpoint was set up to check those entering the Old City, and the alleys were mostly deserted.
In the Mahane Yehuda market, the beating heart of Jerusalem in the days when it was repaired, there were only a few buyers today, and so was the Mamilla complex, which was empty of people.
In the old commercial center in the Kiryat Yuval neighborhood, there was an atmosphere of anguish this afternoon.
David expressed his frustration: "I play football in Sucker Garden three times a week and now it's impossible. It's bothersome and I can't go out either."
Haifa and the Krayot: Saddles
In the Haifa metropolitan area, most businesses were closed.
On most city streets and on major arteries, there was sparse traffic of pedestrians and vehicles throughout most of the day, and public transportation was also closed with a sharp decline in the number of passengers.
In the area of the heart of the desolate Gulf Mall, the matronly driver Oded is waiting, except for the passengers who board the station.
"Meanwhile, the traveling public is quite obedient to the instructions," he updates from the field.
"There is also close enforcement by the inspectors. If someone messes with the mask, they reprimand him. The public is also tired of this epidemic and many follow the guidelines to get it over with."
Kiryat Shmona: Pastoralia
Road 90 out of Kiryat Shmona seems almost routine today.
The silence of the roads is a memory far from the first and second closure.
Unlike previous closures, apart from small businesses, this time people continue to go out to work and drive their children to educational institutions similar to the guidelines that were in place before the current closure was applied.
Avichai Stern, the mayor: "The municipal police are attached to the police in roadblocks, and this makes it easier to enforce, because they also know many of the residents. In the evening, the traffic is very sparse in the past year as well."
In the Big Center at the entrance to the city, only a few cars were seen in the parking lot.
Eilat: "Really frustrating"
"It feels like we're in a work village. We're allowed to go to work and come back right away, and there is no life other than that. Our days have turned gray and depressing."
These harsh words belong to Mali, a resident of Eilat, who, like many in the city of Massa, has long been in the running of the government.
A tour of the streets of Eilat, the beaches and the tourist area shows a gloomy but familiar picture.
The streets are empty, the promenade is deserted and even the computer and phone shops, which only two days ago were crowded with holidaymakers, have been orphaned.
The operators of the maritime attractions have already folded the equipment, and "closed" signs have been hung on the doors of the hotels.
Hadar Ben Dror, who still managed to host, just before the closure, a training camp for swimming in the Gulf of Eilat: "The transition from a vibrant green island to an empty city is really frustrating."
Riots at Ben Gurion Airport and the motel
The testimonies from the relatively full roads throughout the country were backed up today by data from the Pelephone company.
Compared to last week, the use of the Wise navigation app has decreased by an average of only 20% today.
On the first day of the first closure, its use dropped by almost 60% and up to 40% on the first day of the second closure.
In the evening, mass riots and shouts developed in the queue for the Ben Gurion Airport Exceptions Committee, from returning passengers who stood in line for hours and did not agree to provide isolation at the hotels. One of them said angrily: "If we did not snatch Corona on vacation,
The queues were very long, no one cared about it, we were not told how long it would take and everything was crowded and busy. "
At the same time, dozens of isolated people in the Corona hotels in Jerusalem demonstrated tonight and tried to get out of them.
Invited police officers calmed the winds.
In a video posted on social media, one of the isolated people was furious about a power outage.
Another insider claimed that "the food here is not enough. We understand that this law will end this coming Friday and we will just be imprisoned."
The decision to isolate the hotels is expected to end this coming Friday.
Participated in the preparation of the article: Shimon Yaish, Yuri Yalon, Adi Hashmonai, Daniel Sirioti, Ronit Zilberstein, Shlomi Diaz.