It's a confusing time and it's slowly becoming clear that the
dizzying events of the past few weeks will have a long-lasting impact on the
country. To try to make sense of things here is a summary of the recent weeks
Most of this is from Wikipedia, my additions are marked with a *
30 January- Israel suspended all flights from China.
17 February-Israel extends the ban to include arrivals from
Thailand, Hong Kong, Macau and Singapore.
21 February-The first case of the coronavirus pandemic in Israel
was confirmed after a female citizen tested positive for coronavirus at the
Sheba Medical Center after returning from quarantine on the Diamond Princess ship
in Japan.
*Self-quarantines are ordered for anyone who had contact with diagnosed patients. The whereabouts of patients are published for the public.
21 February-Israel instituted a 14-day home isolation rule for
anyone who had been in South Korea or Japan.
26 February-Israel issued a travel warning to Italy and urged
canceling all travel abroad.
2 March-The 2020 Israeli legislative election was held. Multiple
secluded booths were established for 5,630 quarantined Israeli citizens who
were eligible to vote.
*The final results: Netanyahu's bloc of right-wing and
religious parties gained 58 seats, three away from obtaining a blocking
majority.
*6 March-All Israelis returning from Germany, Austria, France,
Spain and Switzerland were instructed to enter self-quarantine for a period of
14 days after their last day in those nations. The decision applied
retroactively to all who have come from those countries in the last 14 days.
9 March-Prime Minister Netanyahu declared a mandatory quarantine
for all people entering Israel, requiring all entrants to quarantine themselves
for fourteen days upon entering the country. The order was effective
immediately for all returning Israelis, and would apply beginning on 13 March
for all foreign citizens, who must show that they have arranged for accommodation
during their quarantine period.
*Gatherings are limited to 5,000 people.
*10 March-Purim. Street parades are canceled but many parties
go on as usual.
11 March-Israel began limiting gatherings to 100 people.
12 March-Israel announced that all universities and schools would
close until after the Passover break.
14 March-Prime Minister Netanyahu addressed the public, addressed
the public, announcing new regulations and stating the need to "adopt a
new way of life". The Health Ministry posted new regulations, effective 15
March. These included banning gatherings of more than 10 people and closure of
all educational institutions, among them daycare centers, special education,
youth movements and after-school programs. The list of venues required to close
included malls, restaurants, hotel dining rooms, pubs, dance clubs, gyms,
pools, beaches, water and amusement parks, zoos and petting zoos, bathhouses
and ritual baths for men, beauty and massage salons, event and conference
venues, public boats and cable cars, and heritage sites. Take-away restaurants,
supermarkets and pharmacies were to remain open.
As late as 15 March, doctors complained that guidelines for
testing were too restrictive.
*The criteria for testing were only those who are
self-quarantined: if they arrived from abroad or were near someone who was diagnosed and they suffer from both a high fever and a dry cough. The Ministry
of Health announced it would increase testing. In addition, it takes around 3 days for results to come in.
*15 March-Israeli president Reuven Rivlin announced that he has
asked Blue and White leader Benny Gantz to form the new government after Gantz
received support from 61 of the 120 MKs.
15 March-Justice Minister Amir Ochana expanded his powers and
announced that non-urgent court activity would be frozen. As a result, the
corruption trial of Prime Minister Netanyahu was postponed from 17 March to 24
May.
15 March-The Israeli government proposed allowing the Shin Bet
security service to track the prior movements of people diagnosed with
coronavirus through their mobile phones. The security service would not require
a court order for its surveillance. The stated goal of the measure was to
identify other people with whom infected individuals came in contact for the
two weeks prior to their diagnosis, and to dispatch text messages informing
those people that they must enter the 14-day self-quarantine. The security
measure was to be in place for only 30 days after approval by a Knesset
subcommittee, and all records were to be deleted after that point. Critics
branded the proposal as an invasion of privacy and civil liberties.
16 March-Israel imposed limitations on the public and private
sectors. All non-critical government and local authority workers were placed on
paid leave until the end of the Passover holiday. Private sector firms
exceeding 10 employees were required to reduce staff present in the workplace
by 70%.
17 March-at 1:30 AM, a Knesset committee approved the phone
tracking program. Within the first two days, the Ministry of Health text-messaged
400 individuals who had been in proximity to an infected person and told them
to enter a 14-day self-quarantine.
18 March-the Defense Ministry took over the purchasing of
corona-related gear.
19 March-The Association for Civil Rights in Israel, Adaleh, and
the Joint List political alliance of Arab parties filed a petition in the
Supreme Court of Israel to halt the monitoring program.
19 March-Several hundred protesters converged on the Knesset to
protest the phone surveillance and other restrictions on citizens' movements,
as well as the shutdown of the judicial and legislative branches of the
government. Police arrested three protestors for violating the ban on
gatherings over 10 people, and also blocked dozens of cars from entering
Jerusalem and approaching the Knesset building.
19 March-Prime Minister Netanyahu declared a national state of
emergency. He said that existing restrictions would henceforth be legally
enforceable, and violators would be fined. Israelis were not allowed to leave
their homes unless absolutely necessary. Essential services would remain open.
20 March-an 88-year-old man was announced as the country's first
casualty.
*21 March: 883 patients are diagnosed.
I'll be posting in the following weeks about life in this new, surreal reality. At the moment there are many things I feel grateful for: I have a
relatively stable full-time job in which I can work easily from home, I can
afford to live on my own without any roommates and I live within walking
distance from my Mom, sister, and their dog. My grandparents, who are in their late 80's,
have finally agreed to give up their independence and let us do grocery
shopping for them and they are both in relatively good spirits, though the
thought of them spending Passover alone is heartbreaking and difficult to bear.
I'm in good health and live very close to a pharmacy and supermarkets.
I'm
worried about everything else: how my family and friends are dealing with the
new isolation measures and how this country will be after the virus leaves us.
I'm worried that many local shops and restaurants won't survive the economic
crisis, not to mention the 500,000 Israelis who will be newly unemployed. I'm worried that due to bureaucratic reasons the official number of
patients does not reflect the reality and in fact the situation is much more
serious than we think. I'm worried that the hospitals, which are under strain in normal circumstances, won't be able to cope with a high number of critical patients. I'm also worried that those in power are taking
advantage of this situation, looking out for their own interests and causing fear and suspicion of others. I'd like to
say that this time of crisis will make room for empathy and solidarity but I'm
not sure that this is the case.
On a lighter note, who would have thought that this humorous song from 1979 would be so
relevant today? I found it surprisingly comforting, like meeting an old friend.
Youtube user Trans Lator is responsible for the excellent translation:
Tea could make you dizzy
And chicken feet are easy
To make me puke they will
I refrain from eating things with vast potential damage
Including any chicken wings,
Yeast pastries, eggs and cabbage
Never touch ceramic cups not fully sterilized
Nor any plates which weren't dehumidified
Taking great care, I'm not pretending
Cause in any place with poor hygiene
Some potential germ's attending
Ice cream makes nose running
Stew will expose your vein
Your stomach gets upset by
Each sandwich you obtain
There are germs around us
In the trees and air non-visible
I try to never walk on the grass
And breathe as less as feasible
Never yawn with an open mouth while at the station
Until I'm sure about the wind direction
Medically being extra careful
A hundred thirty years to live
I will call that successful
Who is there approaching?
My nerves are on alert
And then he goes and sneezes
Well now it's all too late
If there won't be a choice
I'm gonna lock my room hermetically
Won't even use my voice
Won't ever go outside indefinitely
I'll rinse the hair shampoo before I issue
I will pick up the phone just with some tissue
Make sure my forehead goes hot never
And if it all goes well I'll simply live forever
Sending my love to everyone going through this mess.
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