Netanyahu says cabinet set to ban gatherings of more than 2
Mar 31, 2020 1:12:29 GMT -5
Post by shalom on Mar 31, 2020 1:12:29 GMT -5
Netanyahu says cabinet set to ban gatherings of more than 2 people
PM, in self-quarantine, says Israelis must pray on their own, hold a Passover ‘shutdown seder’ only with their nuclear families; slams ‘extremist groups’ for violating guidelines
By JACOB MAGID
30 March 2020, 9:38 pm 0
Speaking to the nation from self-quarantine, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu set out a series of new restrictions on Monday evening, saying further limits the ability of Israelis to leave their homes due to the coronavirus pandemic would soon go into effect.
Speaking ahead of a cabinet meeting to approve the measures, Netanyahu announced that gatherings of more than two people would be banned, along with outdoor prayer quorums, and said the amount of workers allowed to leave home would be further pared down.
“There won’t be gatherings of over two people who are not from the same nuclear family,” he announced from the Prime Minister’s Residence in Jerusalem, speaking after his office announced that he would be voluntarily self-quarantining, along with several senior aides, as a precaution until Health Ministry officials finish their epidemiological investigation into whether he was exposed to the coronavirus from an aide who has contracted COVID-19.
Netanyahu opened his address by saying he was voluntarily quarantining as a “personal example” to Israelis. “The cameraman is six meters away, and I did my own make-up and hair, which is why it looks like this,” he said.
Shortly after his address, his office announced that tests taken by him, his family, and aides came back negative. However, the PMO clarified that the premier would remain in quarantine until receiving further instructions from the Health Ministry.
An Israel Police officer gives an ultra-Orthodox man a fine for violating the government’s anti-coronavirus restrictions in Jerusalem’s Mea Shearim neighborhood on March 30, 2020. (Screen capture/ Israel Police)
Netanyahu said during his Monday address that no kind of prayer will be allowed even in open areas — “pray only on your own” — and that religious events should be restricted as much as possible.
Only immediate family members will be allowed to attend weddings and other life-cycle celebrations, he said, though 20 people are still allowed at funerals and 10 at circumcisions.
Netanyahu also called on Israelis not to visit family during the Passover holiday and said only nuclear family members who live in the same home will be able to celebrate the April 7 seder together.
“This year’s seder night will be remembered as seger night,” he said, using the Hebrew word for shutdown.
“These same restrictions apply as relevant to all faiths,” he noted.
Speaking just before Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, who addressed Israelis from a separate location to set out details of the government’s economic package to assist the economy through the crisis, Netanyahu announced that the percentage of a company’s staffers allowed to go to work would be further reduced, from 30 to 15 percent.
The cabinet was set to approve the new restrictions and economic support moves in a videoconference meeting later Monday evening.
The empty roads of Tel Aviv on March 27, 2020. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)
“It’s true that in Israel, we’re in a better situation than almost every other country,” Netanyahu said, but he added that more needs to be done to curb the spread of infection. “We want to reach the level of some countries in Asia that have slowed the pace of infection still further.”
Netanyahu went on to rap “extremist” groups in the country for not adhering to emergency directives — “deliberately breaching and even showing contempt” for the rules — and said he had therefore ordered security forces to step up enforcement in areas with a high number of violations.
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PM, in self-quarantine, says Israelis must pray on their own, hold a Passover ‘shutdown seder’ only with their nuclear families; slams ‘extremist groups’ for violating guidelines
By JACOB MAGID
30 March 2020, 9:38 pm 0
Speaking to the nation from self-quarantine, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu set out a series of new restrictions on Monday evening, saying further limits the ability of Israelis to leave their homes due to the coronavirus pandemic would soon go into effect.
Speaking ahead of a cabinet meeting to approve the measures, Netanyahu announced that gatherings of more than two people would be banned, along with outdoor prayer quorums, and said the amount of workers allowed to leave home would be further pared down.
“There won’t be gatherings of over two people who are not from the same nuclear family,” he announced from the Prime Minister’s Residence in Jerusalem, speaking after his office announced that he would be voluntarily self-quarantining, along with several senior aides, as a precaution until Health Ministry officials finish their epidemiological investigation into whether he was exposed to the coronavirus from an aide who has contracted COVID-19.
Netanyahu opened his address by saying he was voluntarily quarantining as a “personal example” to Israelis. “The cameraman is six meters away, and I did my own make-up and hair, which is why it looks like this,” he said.
Shortly after his address, his office announced that tests taken by him, his family, and aides came back negative. However, the PMO clarified that the premier would remain in quarantine until receiving further instructions from the Health Ministry.
An Israel Police officer gives an ultra-Orthodox man a fine for violating the government’s anti-coronavirus restrictions in Jerusalem’s Mea Shearim neighborhood on March 30, 2020. (Screen capture/ Israel Police)
Netanyahu said during his Monday address that no kind of prayer will be allowed even in open areas — “pray only on your own” — and that religious events should be restricted as much as possible.
Only immediate family members will be allowed to attend weddings and other life-cycle celebrations, he said, though 20 people are still allowed at funerals and 10 at circumcisions.
Netanyahu also called on Israelis not to visit family during the Passover holiday and said only nuclear family members who live in the same home will be able to celebrate the April 7 seder together.
“This year’s seder night will be remembered as seger night,” he said, using the Hebrew word for shutdown.
“These same restrictions apply as relevant to all faiths,” he noted.
Speaking just before Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, who addressed Israelis from a separate location to set out details of the government’s economic package to assist the economy through the crisis, Netanyahu announced that the percentage of a company’s staffers allowed to go to work would be further reduced, from 30 to 15 percent.
The cabinet was set to approve the new restrictions and economic support moves in a videoconference meeting later Monday evening.
The empty roads of Tel Aviv on March 27, 2020. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)
“It’s true that in Israel, we’re in a better situation than almost every other country,” Netanyahu said, but he added that more needs to be done to curb the spread of infection. “We want to reach the level of some countries in Asia that have slowed the pace of infection still further.”
Netanyahu went on to rap “extremist” groups in the country for not adhering to emergency directives — “deliberately breaching and even showing contempt” for the rules — and said he had therefore ordered security forces to step up enforcement in areas with a high number of violations.
Article continues at link