Health Ministry director: Opening IKEA was a mistake
Bar Siman Tov has been heavily criticized for the way the Health Ministry has functioned under his leadership.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFHealth Ministry Director-General Moshe Bar Siman Tov(photo credit: MINISTRY OF HEALTH)
Health Ministry Director-General Moshe Bar Siman Tov told Israel's KAN News on Sunday morning that he believes reopening IKEA amid the coronavirus pandemic was a mistake.The office of outgoing Health Minister Ya'acov Litzman also rejected allegations that IKEA stores were authorized to open due to close links between the owners of the Israeli stores and the Gur Hasidic sect of which Litzman is a follower."These were decisions taken by relevant professionals and following a request from the Finance Ministry, with no connection to Minister Litzman," his office said in a statement."It is surprising that during an emergency, when the entire system is working with dedication and responsibly to save lives, that people publish false information and details without foundation." Bar Siman Tov nevertheless stated that he believes that in the coming days, Israel will see another drop in the amount of people who contract coronavirus.Regarding reported arbitrariness in governmental decisions regarding businesses that can reopen, he said to Army Radio that "for now, the entire market can open, all stores can open."We have two main subjects that we are working on right now," he continued. "The first is the education system, of course. There will be intense discussions throughout this week to try and find the model through which we may return the education system. The second is malls."Bar Siman Tov has been heavily criticized for the way the Health Ministry has functioned under his leadership."Part of the criticism is true," Bar Siman Tov told Army Radio. "What we need to improve, we are working on. We are working very hard for a lot of weeks on every improvement possible for the testing and investigating process."He further explained that in the eyes of the Health Ministry, the ideal number of people to catch the novel virus per day is 300."At the end, you need to look at the results," he told Army Radio in response to the criticism he and the Health Ministry have been facing in recent days. He explained that Israel has been seeing a fraction of the deaths that locations such as Belgium and New York have been seeing. "These are numbers that you cannot deny," he stated.Bar Siman Tov, despite explaining that the Health Ministry is trying to "lower the curve" in the country, says that Israel must be prepared for a resurgence of the novel coronavirus during the next winter.The director warned on Israel's N12 News that "there are fears that we have to be prepared for a wave that would come in the winter and will comprise both coronavirus and the flu."
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