Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu listens as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a joint statement in the East Room of the White House on January 28, 2020.(Photo by Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images) On April 16, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved a plan to start lifting Israel’s social-distancing measures.
The Times of Israel and Jerusalem Post reported the plan, which will go into effect April 19, allows Israelis to walk and exercise up to 500 meters outside their homes –currently, it is 100 meters – and special education classes and certain businesses will be allowed to re-open. The specific businesses to re-open have yet to be determined, but they will be subjected to social-distancing regulations.
Schools, malls and open-air markets are not expected to re-open on April 19.
According to the Post, the initial opening will be the first phase of the exit strategy; phase two involves re-opening stand-alone businesses; phase three involves re-opening of schools. All three phases are expected to be in two-week increments.
The Israeli cabinet will have the final details of the plan approved on the evening of April 18.
Health Ministry Director-General Moshe Bar Siman Tov told Israel’s Channel 13 on April 15, “A situation has been created that allows more economic activity to be returned to the economy. We are prepared to take more risk, and this is probably what will happen in the coming days. If the Israeli public continues its excellent behavior, we can take steps forward.”
Previous reports suggested the Health and Finance Ministries had differing views on the matter, as the Health Ministry was concerned about lifting the restrictions too soon, whereas the Finance Ministry was concerned the economy couldn’t handle the restrictions for much longer.
As of this writing, there are 12,758 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Israel and 143 deaths from the virus.
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