Against the background of the estimate that by the end of the week Israel will reach one million vaccinated, the Ministry of Sports has begun to step up in order to bring the crowd back to the fields. In an interview with the Sports Channel, the head of the Ministry of Culture and Sports’ Guy Guttman reveals that the ministry submitted to the Ministry of Health an outline according to which by March-April, an audience of up to 75% of the hall / stadium can be allowed to enter basketball and football games.
“According to our outline, fans who want to come to the games will have to meet one of the following criteria: get vaccinated, present a negative test with a validity of 72 hours, or someone who has been to Corona in the past and developed antibodies,” says Guttman. We are putting a lot of pressure on the Ministry of Health to comply with this outline, in light of the impressive vaccination campaign that the country is undergoing. The outline has been examined by the Ministry of Health, there is a dialogue between the ministries, there have already been 3 meetings on the subject. “
Does the Ministry of Health share your ambitions?
“We recognize a desire on the part of the Ministry of Health to promote the issue because for it it is another tool to encourage the public to get vaccinated and we believe that in another year and maybe even soon we will see the returning audience. It depends on the drop in the coefficient of infection below 1, and of course on the increase in the number of vaccinators, and if the trend continues, then we think that we will be able to bring an audience to the pitches as early as March. “
“Trooper takes the audience issue personally”
The connection of the Minister of Culture and Sports, Hili Troper, to the world of sports is known to all. Trooper, himself a Hapoel Jerusalem fan and a subscriber, made it clear to the Ministry of Health that there is no reason that after such an impressive vaccination campaign, you will not start returning to routine. At the same time, Hapoel Jerusalem CEO Guy Harel has in recent days begun to raise the issue on the agenda and called on all relevant bodies to take action on the issue.
If the audience does return, what does that mean in terms of the financial support of the safety net?
“Beyond the safety net, all the other allowances that the Ministry of Sports gives to teams have not been affected, they continue to receive allowances to cover policing and security, for example. We kept our word that we would not allow any sports team to crash because of the corona, and ahead of time we announced that the safety net includes a one-month adjustment fee from the moment the crowd returns, so as not to create a situation where once the first fan enters the money stops flowing. We know that there are teams that the defense network is actually comfortable with financially, but the clear and absolute interest is to bring back the fans. “
What is the real chance that we will see the fans return later this year?
“We hope that the mutation we are currently talking about will not change the situation, and we are pushing and pushing towards March. The minister is pushing for it and pushing for it and we all hope it will happen. ‘
