With early travel restrictions and sweeping closures, the nation had largely contained the virus spread, recording a mortality rate that was far better than many countries in the Western world. As coronavirus tore across the US and Europe, Israel was moving towards reopening.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu routinely held news conferences about this success, warning about the newest challenges and taking credit for the victories.
On April 18, almost exactly two months after Israel discovered its first case, Netanyahu declared that the country had succeeded in its fight, setting a global example "in safeguarding life and blocking the outbreak of the pandemic." He predicted Israel would set an example in restarting the economy as well.
But the second wave its health experts are now cataloging appears to be tracking for a very different ending.
Just weeks after reopening restaurants, malls and beaches, Israel was seeing a 50-fold surge in coronavirus cases from approximately 20 new cases a day in mid-May to more than 1,000 less than two months later.
In early July, Netanyahu announced that gyms, pools, event halls, pubs and more would close indefinitely, while restaurants and places of worship would operate with limited numbers. Desperate to avoid a complete lockdown with unemployment already at more than 20%, Netanyahu issued a stark warning.
"All citizens of Israel know, or need to understand, that we must now take limited actions, with as minimal an economic impact as possible, in order to avoid those extreme measures that will paralyze the economy," he said.
But on July 17, Israel re-imposed a series of strict limitations, bringing the country closer to a second complete lockdown, as cases hit another daily record. The government announced that restaurants would be limited to take-out or delivery service, gatherings limited to 10 people indoors, and stores, malls, museums and salons would close on weekends. From Friday, beaches will also close at weekends.
On Thursday, Israel hit a new record of 1,819 new cases within 24 hours. The previous record of 1,758 was set one day earlier.
At a cabinet meeting that day, Netanyahu warned: "We are making every effort to avoid a general lockdown... We do not have many choices; it is not a normal situation. This is not a situation in which we can do all these processes that take days and hope that everything will be fine. The disease is changing speed and we must change together with it."
Public confidence in Netanyahu's handling of the pandemic is fading fast. From a high of 73% in mid-May when the country appeared to have Covid-19 under control,
his approval has plummeted to 46%, according to surveys conducted by Channel 12 News.
Israel's top public health official, Prof. Siegal Sadetzki, resigned, writing on Facebook: "To my regret, for a number of weeks the handling of the outbreak has lost direction. Despite systemic and regular warnings in the various systems and in the discussions in different forums, we watch with frustration as the hour glass of opportunities runs low."
Demonstrations outside Netanyahu's Jerusalem residence
have been growing in size and frequency, as protesters rally against corruption as well as the government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic and its severe economic impact.
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