JERUSALEM: Israel's embattled health minister on Sunday said he would step down following a public uproar over his handling of the coronavirus crisis and his own COVID-19 infection.
Health Minister Yaakov Litzman informed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he would step aside as the country forms a new government. He made no mention of his much-criticized performance at the Health Ministry, which he has led for most of the past decade, and instead said he would take over the Construction Ministry.
Elsewhere in the region, Saudi Arabia signed a deal worth more than $264 million with China to provide the kingdom with the ability to conduct 9 million coronavirus tests, while Syria said its schools will remain closed for the rest of the school year.
In a statement, Litzman said he "decided not to return to the Health Ministry for a fourth time, and prefers to lead a sweeping development for solving the housing crisis in Israel in the Housing Ministry."
The government has generally been lauded for keeping the coronavirus crisis in check. The virus has infected over 15,000 Israelis and killed nearly 200 people, but Israel has not seen its health system overwhelmed like hard-hit places such as Italy or New York, and the country has begun easing weeks of lockdown.
Litzman, an ultra-Orthodox politician with no formal medical training, has come under criticism for appearing ill-prepared at news conferences and reportedly resisting proposals to tighten lockdown measures that would affect the country's religious community.
Early this month, Litzman was diagnosed with COVID-19, apparently after ignoring his own ministry's orders to avoid group prayer in public places. He has since recovered.
In a TV interview Sunday, Litzman said he had never violated lockdown rules and said he was leaving his job because he was ready for a new challenge, not because of public pressure. "It's clear things have changed for the better," he told Channel 13 TV.
The coronavirus causes mild to moderate symptoms in most patients, who recover within a few weeks. But it can cause severe illness or death, particularly in older patients or those with underlying health problems.
With the crisis appearing to be in check, the Israeli government announced new easing measures Sunday. Barbershops, beauty salons and other small businesses reopened, and restaurants were permitted to serve takeout orders for the first time in nearly two months.
Last week, some shops were allowed to open as well. Malls and outdoor markets, however, remain closed out of concern of a renewed outbreak of the disease. The restrictions on the operation of many small businesses has helped propel unemployment in Israel to over 25 per cent since early March.
Merchants at Jerusalem's large central Mahane Yehuda outdoor market protested its continued closure while many other businesses, including furniture giant IKEA, were allowed to reopen. Some major chain stores also refused to open Sunday, saying they wanted government compensation for their losses first.
The Hebrew business paper The Marker reported that the owners of IKEA's Israeli franchisee have donated at least $1.3 million in recent years to the ultra-Orthodox organization that Litzman belongs to. Litzman denied any connection to the decision.
Despite the easing of restrictions, the government has approved a nationwide lockdown that will close military cemeteries on Memorial Day on Tuesday and cancel public celebrations for Wednesday's Independence Day.
The government has also ordered the closure of stores in Muslim communities from 6:00 p.m. until 3:00 a.m. until the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which began last week.
Saudi Arabia signed its coronavirus testing deal with China's BGI Group on Sunday. The agreement also provides the kingdom with 500 experts, specialists and technicians to conduct tests in six laboratories that will be established across the country.
Saudi Arabia said the agreement indicates the kingdom is "in a race against time to diagnose cases and to work to isolate them." The contract also includes conducting comprehensive community testing, genetic mapping of a number of samples in the kingdom and analysis of immunity mapping from 1 million samples.
Saudi Arabia has also signed agreements with companies in the U.S., South Korea and Switzerland with the aim of testing 40 per cent of people in the country. More than 17,000 confirmed cases of the virus have been reported in Saudi Arabia, including more than 130 deaths.
Syria, which has reported three deaths and 42 confirmed cases, decided Sunday not to reopen schools as a precaution. All elementary and high school students will automatically move up to the next grade. Public and private universities will stay closed until at least the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which this year will occur May 23.
Syria's Cabinet also approved a Health Ministry plan to receive Syrians who want to return from abroad, and has set up quarantine centers where new arrivals will be quarantined for two weeks.