Posted on 01/12/22
| News Source: i24
'I do not want people to lose their workplaces. I do not want to see businesses closing down'
Israel's Prime Minister Naftali Bennett denied the need for a lockdown on Tuesday during a live press conference.
Bennett reiterated the need to keep the economy open as Covid cases continue to rise.
"I do not want people to lose their workplaces. I do not want to see businesses closing down." He called on people to work from home as much as possible, noting that the state will fund quarantine days, including for the self-employed.
Bennett said that lockdowns don’t work, citing other countries as an example of why he refuses to implement total restrictions in Israel.
"We saw that other countries imposed measures as harsh as a lockdown. The Netherlands, for example, imposed a total lockdown, but it didn't help. We have to manage this tsunami.”
When asked about employees in quarantine imposing a "de-facto" lockdown, he stated that it is not the same.
"Everyone who is vaccinated doesn't need to quarantine. The vaccinated need a negative test and go on with your lives."
During his speech, he mentioned the need to protect the vulnerable, stating that about 400,000 patients eligible for the fourth vaccine have taken it.
He called on citizens to use antigen tests when possible, to save PCR tests for the elderly.
"There is no democratic country that can avoid this wave," Bennett said. “These will be difficult weeks ahead of us.”