Israel Braces for Drastic Steps as Virus Shows No Sign of Slowing

The coronavirus infection rate in Israel continued to climb on Monday, with 8.5% of all tests returning positive results. Over 26,000 patients are currently sick with the virus. Israel’s Health Ministry director-general delivered some further sobering insights Tuesday morning, warning that a total lockdown across the country is still a viable option and admitting that a vaccine is not likely to be developed before spring. In a radio interview, Prof. Hezi Levi also came to the defense of Israel’s coronavirus czar, Dr. Ronni Gamzu, appointed just over a week ago and already catching flak from unnamed ministers inside the cabinet. According to several government officials, Gamzu displayed an “embarrassing” lack of concrete solutions for the pandemic, offering instead only “empty slogans and hot air.” One minister claimed the new point man for all-things-corona in Israel looked “helpless.” Most pundits and experts in Israel expected the government, including Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, to use Gamzu as nothing more than a scapegoat, and even warned the respected professor against accepting the job without receiving any legal authority to enact ordinances or decrees. Still, the speed in which the daggers have emerged in the cabinet room will surprise even the most hardened cynics.