The Finance Committee met this morning (Monday) and discussed the costs of the omicarion for the economy.
The Governor of the Bank of Israel, Prof. Amir Yaron, said that "this is a drop of over a billion shekels in ten days, or more than two billion shekels in 20 days."
He also noted that the estimates are short-lived, but that the government should make a plan B.
At the same time, a confrontation developed between the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance, during which Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz attacked the representative of the Ministry of Finance and claimed: "You do not address all the needs."
The director general of the Ministry of Health, Prof. Nachman Ash, reinforced his words and said: "You are tying our hands."
PM Bennett on the jump in morbidity: "Preparing for medication, hospital beds, access to vaccines and tests", Photo: GPO
As stated, the Governor of the Bank of Israel referred to the costs of the Omkiron and said: "We made an estimate at the bank for economic damage as a result of the day of isolation, we went industry by industry. After calculation, we reached a daily cost of isolating an employee "It is NIS 123 million" He added: "Most estimates speak of a relatively short wave - several weeks, so in the estimates I gave you, the economic cost in relation to verified, this is not an event of macroeconomic magnitude. In such a scenario it is recommended to continue with point compensation mechanisms , Which focus on affected industries. "
Prof. Yaron stressed: "The issue that develops all decision makers is more critical scenarios that could make the wave more macroeconomic - for example vital service damage or non-linear damage, all these scenarios and we are not there at the moment, can already lead to high macroeconomic damage."
For comparison, the governor noted that the third wave and its length are estimated by the bank at a cost of "about NIS 7-8 billion and that is already half a percent of GDP" and that "it is very important to be focused" but Sage: "It is important to understand that our level of uncertainty is very different. Implement the safety net and certainly the first corona box that was March-April. "
Director General of the Ministry of Health Prof. Nachman Ash: "We are at war", Photo: Yehuda Peretz
The governor added that in light of the possibility of more difficult scenarios than the current situation, "it is important that the government prepares with Plan B, with some principles that the transition point, if necessary, must be determined according to a macroeconomic criterion.
It can be based on estimates of business revenue, which causes an order from the macro worlds, if you get there at all. There are all kinds of threshold criteria that are more specific to businesses. "
Prof. Yaron noted that it is estimated that the current wave represents an impact of 0.1-0.2 percent of GDP, and that it is not currently a macroeconomic impact, and concluded that the basic scenario is that the wave will eventually end with a rate of 5.5 percent growth at the end of 2022. "Much of the activity returns after the wave, but you have to keep your hand on the pulse afterwards."
At the same time, during a sitting held in the Knesset today, Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz attacked the representative of the Ministry of Finance, claiming that "there are large gaps between what we conclude and the budget of the Ministry of Finance thereafter."
He went on to say: "There are things we need and the treasury budgets less, it does not meet all needs."
In response, the finance representative replied that "a summary has been issued by the prime minister and it will be budgeted," but Horowitz added: "This is not right, I do not know how you work."
The director general of the Ministry of Health, Nachman Ash, also strengthened Horowitz's position and said: "We are at war and you are tying our hands."
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