by Keren Setton

JERUSALEM, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Israel is at the cusp of a major health and economic crisis as it struggles to cope with COVID-19 and its after-effects.

Weeks after the country lifted restrictions on its citizens, the number of people who have contracted the virus has surged and the economic woes which have plagued the economy since March threaten to worsen.

On Monday, the Israeli cabinet is expected to approve new restrictive measures in order to curb the spread of the virus. This comes just weeks after a relief of strict measures. At that time, it seemed Israel had successfully contained the virus.

"The opening of the education system and allowing large gatherings happened too quickly," said Nadav Davidovitch, director of the School of Public Health at Ben Gurion University of the Negev, adding "this came together with the behavior of the public and a misguided feeling amongst the people that the virus is gone and we can return to normal."

In May, as restrictions were lifted, there were tens of cases reported each day.

The rush to re-open schools and businesses was in response to increasing public pressure as the economic crisis appeared to pose a larger threat than the pandemic. Massive weddings and celebrations were held, people flocked to restaurants and beaches and for a short period Israelis believed they were immune.

Israel's Health Ministry is now reporting about 1,000 cases a day. A total of 331 Israelis have died from the virus since the outbreak.

Gatherings are expected to be scaled down yet again and additional restrictions are expected to be added in the coming days.

The effort the public made during weeks of a stringent lockdown came at a heavy price that appears to have been wasted.

Over a million Israelis are now unemployed due to the crisis. This is over 17 percent unemployment rate according to the government employment agency data. Before the pandemic, Israel was at a record low 3.3 percent just earlier this year.

The government is facing major criticism on how it is handling the health and economic crisis. The strict lockdown which was in place for several weeks was supposed to give time for relevant agencies to prepare for a new wave of the virus. While they may not have thought it would come so soon, it appears the time was misspent.

The nurses conducting epidemiological investigations are severely understaffed. As numbers continue to rise, they are faced with an impossible task, rendering them virtually ineffective.

While the number of COVID-19 tests conducted has dramatically increased, the labs in Israel are also under-funded and inadequately staffed.

The Health Ministry has also been criticized for inconsistent messages to the public. In one example, officials said earlier that masks were ineffective, even harmful while in an abrupt about-face, citizens are required by law to wear masks.

Israel's Finance Ministry has also been criticized with a slow and inadequate response to the plight of those hit by the economic fallout. Too much bureaucracy has been blamed for slow distribution of grants and loans.

"The finance officials don't want to spend money, they don't want to increase debt, they are abiding by the rules of the old economy," Prof. David Gershon from the Hebrew University School of Business Administration told Xinhua.

"If we do not block the spread of the coronavirus, we will have neither health nor an economy, many citizens in Israel will lose their lives," said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday.

He promised a massive plan to compensate those hit by the virus.

Israel's economy will likely not withstand another blanket quarantine without a major collapse. The government will try and navigate between taking the most stringent steps without shutting down the economy while trying to conquer the virus.

Experts believe the situation will worsen after the summer when payments, such as mortgages and other loans, will need to be paid after months of approved delays.

People whose livelihood has been wiped out, like those working in the tourism industry, will need to make payments while on zero income.

The coming weeks will be critical in containing the virus. If unsuccessful, Israel will inevitably head to another lockdown. This will be a major blow to the economy. Enditem

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