Israeli public health director quits, saying govt reopened economy ‘too rapidly’

Israel’s public health director quit on Tuesday amid a spike in new coronavirus cases, saying that the government had reopened the economy too rapidly and had lost its way in dealing with the pandemic.

Siegal Sadetzki, an epidemiologist, announced her resignation a day after PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet reimposed a series of restrictions, including the closure of bars, gyms and event halls.

After a national lockdown in April, Israel flattened the coronavirus infection curve in May to about 20 new cases a day. However, since the reopening of schools and many businesses two months ago, the number of cases has soared, reaching more than 1,000 a day last week, Reuters reported.

Sadetzki said on Facebook she decided to resign because her warnings about attempting to return to normal conditions too quickly had been ignored.