Red light, green light, go! Gamzu’s traffic light plan passes

The coronavirus cabinet on Sunday unanimously approved the “traffic-light” program presented by coronavirus commissioner Prof. Ronni Gamzu. The plan will go into effect Sunday, September 6. The cabinet also added a number of new countries to the list of green states from which Israelis can return without entering isolation and rolled out an outline for how to handle prayer services during the Hebrew months of Elul and Tishrei.

Gamzu spoke after the cabinet meeting and said a color would soon be administered to every one of the country’s 250 cities.

“Each resident should know the color of his or her city,” Gamzu said. “The fight against coronavirus will move from Jerusalem to the municipal authorities.”

The final vote on the traffic-light plan had been delayed several times over the last three weeks. But shortly before the vote, Alternate Prime Minister and Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Interior Minister Arye Deri told Gamzu they would support his plan.

“We will support the approval of the traffic-light plan that was built in coordination with the Defense Ministry... Professionals will determine the way [to beat coronavirus]. The only consideration is public health,” Gantz said following a meeting with Gamzu.

The plan centers on identifying communities as red, orange, yellow or green based on several factors, including the number and rate of increase of new weekly patients per 10,000 in each authority, the overall rate of infection and how many people test positive out of those who are screened for the virus.

Cities that might be labeled red zones were not discussed at the meeting to avoid a political debate, but a short list of red zones is listed daily on the Health Ministry website.

On Sunday, they included Bnei Brak, Tira, Kafr Kassem, Umm el-Fahm, Daliat al-Carmel, Lakiya, Ma’aleh Iron, Yakir, Tifrah, Bukata and Yad Binyamin.

There are several differences between the ways that gatherings and other activities will be handled in the different color zones. For example, in red zones, only 10 people will be able to gather indoors and 20 outside; in orange zones, those numbers rise to up to 25 and 50 with capsules of 20 people, respectively. In yellow zones, there could be up to 50 inside and 100 outside in capsules of 20. With permission from local authorities, events could have up to 500 people. In green zones, 100 inside and 250 outside, respectively. Here too, with permission, green zone events could have 500 or more attendees.

The traffic-light plan differentiates between certain types of activities, including the education system, public transportation, workplaces, events, nature parks, malls and museums.

After the meeting, Gamzu explained the following: “The red and orange cities will get restrictions – lots of restrictions. Probably the education system will be closed, there will be restrictions on businesses, restrictions on commercial activity and restrictions on movement, and maybe even lockdown.”

During the meeting, it was reported that the ministers opposed Gamzu on one point: opening schools in red zones on Tuesday.

Gamzu had recommended that schools in these zones should wait to open until after the High Holy Days and Sukkot.

During the meeting, it was leaked that the ministers had voted in favor of opening all schools, even in red zones. However, shortly after the conclusion of the cabinet, Gamzu put out a statement that, “a decision has not yet been reached to open the school year in red cities.”

He said his stance remains unequivocally unchanged.

“The opening of the school year in red cities will bring about a spike in coronavirus cases in those cities and in other cities,” he said.

Furthermore, the cabinet rolled out an initial outline for prayer services during the High Holy Days in all zones.

Prayer services can be held outside in large groups of up to 250 people who are divided into capsules of 20 people. Each capsule would need to be clearly marked and individuals should sit two meters apart unless they are from the same nuclear family.

Prayers could be held inside, as well, but only in facilities that are minimally 40-square-meters large and with people being able to stay two meters apart. Bigger facilities can hold more prayer goers – up to 1,000 – and so long as there is not more than one person for every four square meters.

The vote on the traffic-light program was considered a “watershed” moment for Gamzu. He had suggested that if he was not given the “tools” to manage the pandemic, he might step down.

The cabinet also approved the opening of the cultural halls to larger audiences starting this coming Sunday, under Purple Ribbon guidelines.

Finally, the coronavirus cabinet added nine new countries to its list of states to which Israelis can travel and return without entering quarantine. The new states are Australia, Uruguay, United Arab Emirates, Ireland, Taiwan, Norway, Singapore, Portugal and Thailand.

Recall, Israelis can already return from the following green states without isolation: Austria, Italy, Estonia, Bulgaria, the United Kingdom, Georgia, Germany, Denmark, Hong Kong, Hungary, Greece, Jordan, Latvia, Lithuania, New Zealand, Slovenia, Finland, Canada, Cyprus, Croatia and Rwanda.

There were 897 people diagnosed with coronavirus on Saturday, the Health Ministry reported, plus another 429 between midnight and press time on Sunday.

The number of serious patients was rising and reached 444 Sunday evening, among them 127 who are intubated. The death toll rose to 919, with eight people dying from coronavirus between midnight and press time.