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Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on Wednesday that he has respects for the health experts who advise the government on the pandemic, but he has no plans to toughen current coronavirus restrictions to stop the spread of infections.
The remarks came two days after his first ever address at UN General Assembly, where he appeared to criticize the health officials advising his cabinet for pressuring the government to introduce tougher health restrictions.
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Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Health Ministry DG Nachman Ash
(Photo: Alex Kolomoisky, Olivia Petusi)
"The government's policy is not to impose more restrictions on the public but to keep Israel's economy as open as possible, while at the same time working towards increasing the number of vaccinated Israelis and concentrating efforts in areas of high morbidity," he told reporters in New York before boarding his flight back to Israel.
Bennett spoke earlier with the Director General of the Health Ministry Professor Nachman Ash and CEOs of Israel's Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) to discuss how they were preparing for the expected increase in demand for vaccines due to changes in the Green Pass policy.
Under the new rules, the Green Pass will only be issued to those who have received three doses of the vaccine or have recently recovered from COVID-19.
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Prime Minister Naftali Bennett speaking to reporters before flight back to Israel on Wednesday
(Photo: GpO)
"Despite the pressure put to bear, we will refrain from imposing wide ranging restrictions on the entire population," Bennett said.
"At the moment the data shows that 40 local authorities have the highest COVID infection rates in Israel - all in the Arab sector - and 90% of all serious ill patients in hospitals were not vaccinated," he said.
"We will avoid causing damage that will result in loss of thousands of jobs," Bennett added.
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The coronavirus ward at the Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon earlier this month
(Photo: AP)
The prime minister came under criticism from officials from across the political spectrum for a speaking out against senior health officials who called for further mitigation measures to slow the spread of the pathogen during a briefing with reporters after his Monday's UN speech.
Ash said in an interview to Ynet on Wednesday, that he was surprised that in his UNGA address, Bennett neglected to thank health officials amid the fight against COVID-19.
"I thought the prime minister would say that the world can and does learn from Israel. I believe the Israeli health system deserves praise, and that was not forthcoming," Ash said.