Lapid: Government should resign instead of lockdown

‘This lockdown won’t save lives, it will cost lives; depression kills, hopelessness kills,’ he said

By GIL HOFFMAN
MK Yair Lapid speaks during a protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling on him to quit, at Rabin Square in Tel Aviv on April 19, 2020 (photo credit: TOMER NEUBERG/FLASH90)
MK Yair Lapid speaks during a protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling on him to quit, at Rabin Square in Tel Aviv on April 19, 2020
(photo credit: TOMER NEUBERG/FLASH90)
Israel is entering a lockdown period only because of the problems in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition, opposition leader Yair Lapid said on Wednesday during an online press conference.
The Yesh Atid Party leader said that with only 48 hours left before the lockdown, nobody understands what is meant to happen.
“This lockdown is a mistake: it’s a disaster,” Lapid said. “They’re shutting the country down in a move that isn’t properly planned and isn’t being done professionally. This lockdown won’t save lives, it will cost lives. Depression kills, hopelessness kills. People won’t go to hospital with a heart attack; the elderly will be at home on their own.”
Lapid said a lockdown is only a correct move when there is no other choice. But he said there are other steps Israel can take, such as the scrapped “traffic light plan” devised by coronavirus commissioner Prof. Ronni Gamzu. Focusing on high-risk areas and high-risk groups, including the elderly and those with underlying illnesses is what is needed, he said.
“The only country in the world putting its citizens into a second lockdown, needs to resign first,” Lapid said. “It’s an admission of failure. The citizens are being punished because the government has failed. This lockdown isn’t necessary from a healthcare perspective. It’s a death blow to the Israeli economy.”
Lapid called on Blue and White to oppose the lockdown, which he said was their opportunity to tackle the coronavirus properly.  
“We will fight here in the Knesset on every clause in these guidelines,” he told his party’s former political partner. “Fight with us against the lockdown, which needs to be stopped. The Israeli economy needs to be saved, not buried.”