Minister: Israel Seemingly Headed Towards ‘Herd Immunity’

Regional Cooperation Minister Esawi Frej (Meretz) said Tuesday that the latest figures show that Israel is heading toward “herd immunity.”

“According to the figures we have, 2-4 million people in the next three weeks are expected to test positive,” Frej told Yediot. “This is the direction. Why should we bury our heads in the ground like an ostrich? The pandemic is reaching everyone.”

Frej admitted that the government “is not able to do all the tests needed, we don’t have enough PCR tests, we have a problem with labs.” But he defended the government, saying that it is making decisions “to do the maximum to protect public health” with vaccines and antiviral medications.

He said that a lockdown will do more damage than good, but called for adherence to the current guidelines: “The behavior of the public is more important than anything we do… everyone’s behavior is what will determine our direction.”