Coronavirus czar Prof. Nachman Ash said on Thursday that the two-week lockdown approved by the government on Wednesday night won’t be sufficient to adequately decrease the morbidity rate in Israel.

Ash told Ynet that the government made a decision to re-evaluate the situation in two weeks and decide if the lockdown will have to be extended. “This will definitely need to happen,” he added.

Later on Thursday, Ash said that the lockdown will last between two weeks and a month and he believes that this will be Israel’s last lockdown as the effects of the vaccination campaign will begin to be felt as the restrictions begin to be lifted.

Earlier this week, Ash warned that Israel could mark another 3,000 deaths from the coronavirus if a lockdown is not swiftly implemented. “There is no choice but to enter a lockdown,” he said. “If action had been taken two weeks ago it may have been avoidable.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)