Interior Minister Aryeh Deri (Shas) said that there is no way out of another lockdown, due to the rising infection rates. In an interview with Hadashot Sof Shavua , Deri said, "There's no way to avoid the truth: In order to get rid of these numbers, we're going to need to have a general lockdown." "This is also the opinion of the experts - [coronavirus czar Professor Ronni] Gamzu and the Health Ministry have said that there will be no way around it. No one has yet found a different system for bringing thousands of infections down to tens of infections." He added: "A lockdown is a horrible thing, it's very problematic - it's an economic hit." Regarding the decision to impose a lockdown only on the "red" cities , Deri said that "the police and Home Front Command said that controlling 30 red cities is more complicated than a lockdown on the entire country." "I asked the Cabinet if a lockdown on the red cities would save us from a general lockdown , if there was even a small chance of it. But no one said that that is what will happen." He also said that he supports Gamzu: "I did not appoint him, the Prime Minister did. I back him, all the time. I have not said anything bad about him personally. The Interior Ministry headed by myself does everything to help him. His success is my success. I pray he will succeed."
