The national command center will integrate the Health, Finance and Justice ministries to ensure Israel has the supplies it needs to handle the coronavirus epidemic.
By United with Israel Staff
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed the director of the Mossad and the director-general of the Defense Ministry, as well as Sarel-the group purchasing organization, to establish a national command center responsible for procurement and acquisition of supplies needed to combat coronavirus.
The national command center will integrate additional elements from the Health, Finance and Justice ministries, along with others, in the procurement efforts. Netanyahu also instructed the security industries to evaluate the possibility of local production.
Supplies such as masks, sanitation and disinfectant materials, protective wear for medical personnel, medications, testing kits and ventilators are in high demand since the outbreak of the illness.
The government also approved emergency regulations to limit activity in order to reduce the spread of the coronavirus in the country. The regulations include a further limiting of going out into the public sphere, the placing of responsibility on employers, the closure of non-essential shops and the imposition of restrictions on public transportation.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Israel has 2,170 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and numbers are climbing as testing increases.