Israel began a second Coronavirus curfew period on the last day of Pesach when, just like on Seder night, even food shops closed and all movement was forbidden beyond 100 metres of people’s homes.
As an additional precaution, bakeries were forbidden to resume operating until 2am on Thursday morning, to prevent the usual Motzaei Pesach crowds of people eager for their first taste of unleavened bread after seven days.
In an attempt to assauge at least some of the hunger for chametz, pizzerias were allowed to reopen immediately after the chag, as long they only delivered to customers.
While the first wave of Israel’s Covid-19 infections was among citizens traveling abroad in February, epidemiologists believe the much larger second wave of infections was boosted a month ago during parties, dinners and synagogue services over Purim.
One objective since then has been to prevent a recurrence over Pesach — hence the curfew on the first and last days of the festival.
The initial focus was on the need for families not to join older familiy members for the Seder, but the last day of Pesach — with its large meals, the rush for chametz and the Mimouna celebrations (which are traditionally observed by Jews originating from Morocco but have become a national Israeli celebration in recent decades) — was also a major concern.
It did not help that while the overwhelming majority of the Israeli public abided by the rules on Seder night, some — like the families who taken off intercity buses by police and forced to return home — and the country’s leaders were less disciplined.
It emerged that President Reuven Rivlin, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others including Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor Lieberman all spent the Seder with their children who did not live in the same home.
Mr Rivlin duly apologised, explaining that since his wife Nechama’s death last year, he relied on his children on weekends and holidays when presidential residence staff were away.
In a televised address on Monday, Mr Netanyahu said: “On Seder night, we had our son Avner, who is here for many hours and sleeps in an adjoining flat in the secure zone, and with that, I know there was public criticism. It would have been right to be more stringent.”
As of Tuesday morning, Israel had 117 deaths and 11,868 confirmed cases, 138 of which were in critical condition.
Medical authorities believe the country still has the virus under control but are concerned that in the last days of Pesach, people were beginning to chafe at the restrictions and spend more time outdoors.
Of similar concern is that the government has yet to publish an exit strategy.
Mr Netanyahu acknowledged this in his address, saying a final decision would emerge towards the end of the week, but there is deep disagreement within government on this.
While the Treasury favours immediately allowing 50 per cent of the workforce to go back to their jobs, Health Ministry experts are pushing for another two weeks of closure to cover Independence Day, another holiday which usually entails large outdoor gatherings, isolated at home.
