Israel about to enter pre-Passover virus closure * Banks accused of ’piggish’ behavior * 7 degrees of exit * Johnson still in ICU * Locked down? Open up to... Meir Shalev

[Visit timesofisrael.com for 24/7 updates]( The Daily Edition Tuesday, April 7, 2020 [Passover closure to begin at 7 p.m., curfew to take effect Wednesday afternoon]( By [TOI staff]( [Ministers approve emergency measures banning all intercity traffic for four days; restrictions to be tightened over seder night; Jerusalem divided into seven zones]( [Israelis will be required to wear face masks outdoors under new order]( By [TOI staff]( [Israel media review / Blood, frogs, lice and curfew: 6 things to know for April 7]( By [Jacob Magid]( ToI investigates [Shoshanna Solomon]( [Israel’s banks accused of ‘piggish’ behavior as businesses suffer credit squeeze]( [Experts, MKs outraged as interest rates raised on loans and mortgages; banks say Israel not giving them enough cover as pandemic crisis adds to risk]( [Treasury rejects El Al’s $350m loan request as company struggles to survive]( By [Luke Tress and TOI staff]( [NIS 90 billion virus aid package scrapes through Knesset with help of Joint List]( By [TOI staff]( [Israel’s death toll rises to 60 as coronavirus cases top 9,000]( By [TOI staff]( [80-year-old man who succumbed to illness had been in serious condition for weeks; amid concerns of nationwide shortage, Health Ministry chief says 3,000 ventilators available]( [Data shows nearly 1/3rd of all virus cases centered in Jerusalem and Bnei Brak]( By [TOI staff]( [Government plan to seal special needs facilities provokes uproar]( By [Sue Surkes]( [7 degrees of exit: Rollback of virus rules envisioned as lengthy, phased process]( By [Stuart Winer]( [Experts say essential industry and high-tech will return first; authorities may use localized lockdowns to contain future outbreaks; schools and air travel likely last to come back]( [Netanyahu announces Passover closure and curfew, but says exit may be in sight]( By [TOI staff]( [Austria could start loosening virus lockdown from April 14]( By [AFP]( [Palestinians report 19 new coronavirus cases in West Bank, 1 in Gaza]( By [Adam Rasgon]( [Officials in Ramallah says four people in intensive care in the West Bank; Hamas-run health ministry releases 632 from quarantine facilities in territory]( [East Jerusalem hospital officials fret over prospect of rise in virus cases]( By [Adam Rasgon]( [IDF gears up for larger than normal seder meals, offers cash to troops in need]( By [Judah Ari Gross]( Live updates [Israeli citizen indicted for working against country on behalf of Iran]( By [TOI staff]( [Shin Bet says suspect traveled abroad, was asked to plot terrorism, gather defense information, seek ways to cause societal discord, recruit others]( [Amid confusion over virus symptoms, Israeli scientist creates a sniff test tool]( By [Nathan Jeffay]( [Smell garlic and toothpaste and save lives from coronavirus: It’s not a folk cure, but a Weizmann Institute initiative, and 200 people an hour are joining]( [IDF ramps up involvement in national virus response, scales back reserves]( By [Judah Ari Gross]( [Israel’s Redhill Biopharma gets green light for experimental COVID-19 treatment]( By [Luke Tress]( [Locked down? Open up to… Meir Shalev]( By [Mitch Ginsburg]( Top Ops [Aaron Krom]( [My first on-call on the Corona ICU]( [A surreal experience, it made me a little anxious and a little proud — until a quick phone call turned things around, and not for the better]( [Ilana Sober Elzufon]( [Pesach dishes]( [For me, these holiday accessories have come to symbolize the fragility of life; you see, when we pack them away each year, we don’t know if or when we’’ll next see them]( [UK Prime Minister Johnson remains in intensive care as he battles coronavirus]( By [Alice Ritchie and Phil HAZLEWOOD]( [Cabinet minister says PM, who spent night in hospital, was given ‘some oxygen’ but is not on a ventilator; foreign minister steps in to lead country, though his powers unclear]( [Dominic Raab, the UK minister who will take over if Johnson incapacitated]( By [Phil HAZLEWOOD]( [30 British Jewish victims of coronavirus buried in three-day span]( By [TOI staff and Agencies]( Analysis [Haviv Rettig Gur]( [As talks founder again, Netanyahu caught between Gantz and right-wing base]( [A new government was in hand: Likud had won on annexation, Blue and White on judicial reforms; but a last-minute outcry from the PM’s rightist flank forced a backtrack]( [Nearly 140 US Jewish leaders urge Gantz, Ashkenazi to block annexation]( By [Eric Cortellessa]( [Blue and White calls off coalition talks over dispute on judicial appointments]( By [TOI staff and Jacob Magid]( First person [Melanie Lidman]( [How to throw off the yoke of supermarkets and produce your own eggs instead]( [With the country experiencing an egg shortage before Passover, raising your own fowl could have kept you in steady supply even while cooped up]( [Millions of eggs land in Israel to ease Passover scramble; some flew in style]( By [TOI staff]( [With exports shuttered, farmers turn to WhatsApp to hawk their produce]( By [Jessica Steinberg]( [CRM]( More Headlines [A mismatched pair’s love story ends with coronavirus]( By [Matt Sedensky]( [Settlers hurl stones at group of Palestinian farmers, rights group says]( By [Jacob Magid]( [Over 1,800 Israeli travelers still stranded abroad amid pandemic]( By [TOI staff and JTA]( [Argentine journalist: Coronavirus was created by rich Americans and Israelis]( By [JTA]( [In recovery mode, Chinese donors shell out for Israel’s coronavirus fight]( By [Nathan Jeffay]( [Japan declares state of emergency as global coronavirus toll tops 75,000]( By [Agencies and TOI staff]( [DNC chair reassures Jewish Democrats party platform will back 2-state solution]( By [Ron Kampeas]( [Home but not alone / Israel’s Keshet TV to televise celebrity seder]( By [Jessica Steinberg]( [Doing their bits / Israel Philharmonic offers Passover medley for holiday]( By [Jessica Steinberg]( [Virtual vox / Uncowed by coronavirus, Koolulam wants to teach the world to sing]( By [Jessica Steinberg]( [Unsubscribe from this List]( © 2020 THE TIMES OF ISRAEL, All Rights Reserved