| (Communicated by the Prime Minister’s Media Adviser)
Following are Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s remarks, this evening (Thursday, 23 July 2020), at the press conference at the Health Ministry:
„Good evening, citizens of Israel. In the framework of our fight against the global corona pandemic, I have decided – together with Health Minister Yuli Edelstein – to appoint Prof. Ronni Gamzu as the national corona project manager. Prof. Gamzu has rich experience in the health system; he was Director General of the Health Ministry – Director General of this ministry. During the first wave of the coronavirus, he established, with great success, the ‘Mothers and Fathers Shield’ project to protect the senior population.
“I would like to remind you of another thing that was very moving, which was on television with your participation, Ronni. In recent years you have dealt with cancer. You did not give in, you did not succumb to the hardship, you beat cancer and you will help us beat the coronavirus.
“I would like to thank Prof. Gabi Barbash for his important insights, which will assist us in the fight against the coronavirus. We will continue to be aided by his advice and his experience.
“Prof. Gamzu has one major task – severing the chain of infection. To this end, he will be given all the responsibilities, and I would like to emphasize, all the responsibilities, in three spheres: Testing, tracing and quarantines. Prof. Gamzu will manage the network of testing to reveal the coronavirus in all laboratories throughout the country. He will manage the network of epidemiological investigations in order to discover with who the carriers and patients have been in contact. He will manage the quarantine network for those carriers and patients who have been located in order to sever the chain of infection. I would also like to emphasize that the IDF will also have an important and central role in this integrated operation, especially in carrying out tracings and quarantines. As per the policy that Prof. Gamzu will formulate, we in the Cabinet will decide on lockdowns and restrictions.
“I want you to know that many countries which opened their public spheres in the first wave are now closing various spheres in the second wave due to the increasing morbidity, and I also told you that this would occur. This morning, I spoke with my friend, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, and he told me about the partial lockdown that they have now imposed in Australia, and many [US] states are doing this including – inter alia – Texas, California, Florida and Arizona.
“We are still trying – as much as possible – to avoid a general lockdown but if it is necessary, we will do it because our guiding principle is to save lives, and that is the supreme value. Together with Prof. Gamzu, we will make the right decisions based on data that is as updated as possible and on medical and economic considerations. When I say this, I mean that we will not make decisions based on populist considerations. There is nothing easier than being populist – open, do it, ease up, everything, meanwhile morbidity is leaping forward. It is very easy to be populist. We will make decisions based on the professional consideration of safeguarding health and saving lives, and – of course – maintaining our economy and your livelihoods.
“After we flatten the curve and reduce the number of infected people, we will implement the strategy that Prof. Gamzu will formulate for opening the economy, opening the education system and opening other areas. Thus we will be able to maintain a safe daily routine during the corona period – for the long-term until a vaccine for the virus is found.
“I hear, how can I not, the criticism of those sitting in the stands, who bear no responsibility and who also talk irresponsibly. I want to tell you, citizens of Israel, I am down on the field. We are all down here on the field. We take the criticism of political rivals and journalists who are quick on the keyboard but I want you to know that we are fighting for you on the field with full force, all the time, around the clock. But in war, and we are in a global war against the coronavirus, a pandemic that is running amok in a way that has not been seen in the past 100 years, there is no time to respond to every baseless claim, we must act quickly.
“In the transitional government during the first wave, we could act quickly. We made quick decisions because we used emergency regulations. In the regular government, we do not have this possibility. Therefore, we have done three main things: First, we passed the expanded corona law. This law authorizes the Corona Cabinet to approve regulations quickly for the public health. I voted for this law at midnight yesterday and I thank MK Yaakov Asher and Deputy Minister Yoav Kisch for their important work in passing this law. Second, Benny Gantz and me agreed to reduce the Corona Cabinet almost in half in order to make the decision-making process more efficient. And third, as you see, today we are appointing a national corona project manager.
“These measures enable us to make quicker, more consistent decisions. By the way, in the previous system, you needed to make a decision in the Corona Cabinet. You had to bring it to the full Cabinet. It had to go past the legal advisers of course and afterwards it had to be passed in the Knesset, and the Knesset changes it. One had a situation in which you make a decision, they reject it – very popular, very populist, but not good at all for the war against the coronavirus. So we needed to pass these decisions and I am glad that we did so.
“Here is something else we did this week: We added 2,000 positions for nurses and 400 for doctors. We significantly increased the salary of social workers. I thank the doctors, nurses and social workers, men and women, who are at the forefront, and many others. I would also like to thank Finance Minister Yisrael Katz and the workers’ organizations for reaching the agreements.
“At the start of next week, we will submit for Cabinet approval the plan for a grant for every citizen and immediately afterward the plan will be submitted for a lightning legislative process in the Knesset so that the money will reach you as quickly as possible, citizens of Israel, via the National Insurance Institute. These grants join the other major economic plans that we passed earlier, to benefit the self-employed, business-owners and those seeking work. I can already tell you – we will submit yet more plans in order to further accelerate the wheels of the economy and, of course, employment.
“Citizens of Israel, in order for us to be able to successfully fight the coronavirus, I reiterate: Do not belittle the directives. Wear masks, maintain distance, wash your hands and avoid gatherings beyond that which is permitted. I also say this to the people participating in the demonstrations on whichever side, to the supporters of the government and its opponents: Adhere to the directives, maintain health. I would like to say something else – uphold the honor of our country. Do not disrespect the symbols of the state as we saw in that disgraceful show at the Knesset menorah. Do not drag the country into anarchy, violence, vandalism and the spreading of diseases via awful the sanitary conditions of relieving one’s self in the streets and courtyards. Do not be dragged into assaulting policemen; they are doing their job. I would like to take this opportunity to say a good word to the police and Border Police who are guarding all of us: Thank you.
“We are all dealing with the coronavirus together – with personal responsibility, mutual guarantee and being concerned for others. Our sources tell us ‘When the month of Av arrives, we decrease joy.’ I hope that later in this month, we will see more good news and more joy.” |
