TEL AVIV – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday vowed Israel would do whatever is needed to prevent an economic crisis spurred by the coronavirus outbreak.
Speaking at a special meeting he convened with officials including Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon and Bank of Israel Governor Amir Yaron, he said Israel is formulating special procedures to contain the crisis and prepare for “from an economic point-of-view.”
“A steady hand is on the steering wheel. We are meeting on a daily basis and there is a very orderly division of the areas of responsibility, management and backing,” Netanyahu said.
“I ask that Israeli citizens listen to the instructions that we give, we will work together and will overcome this crisis,” he added.
“Our policy remains the same: Over-preparation and not under-preparation and above all, caution and not hysteria,” the prime minister said.
Israel could stand to lose between NIS 3.6 billion ($1 billion) and NIS 14 billion ($4 billion), the finance ministry estimated, and that forecast does not account for a “nightmare scenario” of a widespread outbreak of the virus in Israel, the Hebrew-language Globes newspaper reported.
One Israeli woman who contracted the disease while on Diamond Princess cruise ship has made a full recovery and is being released from a Japanese hospital where she was quarantined, family members said Tuesday. A second Israeli who returned to Israel on Friday from a cruise ship has tested positive for the virus and is in isolation in Sheba Medical Center.
The other 11 Israeli passengers were evacuated from the coronavirus-stricken cruise ship Thursday after spending more than two weeks quarantined off the coast of Japan. They are currently in quarantine in Israel.
National Security Council director Meir Ben-Shabbat, who also attended the meeting, said after that “Everything is under control.
“We are constantly assessing risk,” he said.
The Finance Ministry’s chief economist Shira Greenberg said so far macroeconomic activity has not been affected by the virus, but the ministry has received reports from companies of potential damage, and in some cases, major companies have already felt significant losses.
Israel’s national carrier El Al Airlines has lost $50 million to date over the crisis, Transportation Minister Bezalal Smotrich said last week.
Ron Tomer, president of the Manufacturers Association of Israel who represented the private sector at the meeting, said his organization was working with the Finance Ministry to secure an “economic safety net” for Israeli manufacturers.
His remarks came after appeal to the government to help businesses negatively impacted by the coronavirus outbreak.
The Bank of Israel Research Division’s latest growth forecast released in January sees the economy growing by 2.9% in 2020, but the bank’s governor, Prof. Amir Yaron, said that if the crisis continues, the economic effects will be significant. In the meantime, however, the Bank Of Israel would keep its benchmark interest rate at 0.25%.
Global business research firm Dun & Bradstreet found the virus’ outbreak on the Chinese economy could cause a “drag of approximately one percentage point on global GDP growth” if the virus is not contained by the end of the summer of 2020.
A report by the firm found that at least 51,000 companies worldwide, 163 of which are in the Fortune 1000, have one or more direct or “Tier 1” suppliers, and a further five million companies have one or more Tier 2 suppliers, in the impacted region in China.
Israel’s tourist industry is likely to be hit biggest, with the country barring entry to foreigners who have been to China, Hong Kong, Macau, Thailand, Singapore, South Korea and Japan in the past two weeks and closing its borders entirely to foreign nationals from China and South Korea.
Concerns have also been raised that the virus would stop people from going out to vote on election day next week.
However, Prime Minister Netanyahu on Monday said the virus did not constitute a good enough reason to postpone the vote.
“The corona[virus] is a big challenge. From the first moment I decided to take abundant preparatory measures that are stricter than any other country in the world. I don’t see a reason at the moment to delay the elections,” he told Jerusalem Radio.
Hundreds of Israelis have self-quarantined over fears they had been exposed to the virus overseas or because they were in contact with South Korean pilgrims who were visiting Israel and who tested positive after returning home.
Around 15 polling stations staffed by EMT service Magen David Adom employees will be set up around the country to allow quarantined Israelis to vote.
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