Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday urged his countrymen to adopt ‘Namaste’ and avoid shaking hands as one of the measures to avoid the spread of the deadly coronavirus.
Namaste Israel
Speaking at a press conference regarding a survey meeting to restrain the coronavirus in Israel, PM Netanyahu announced that his government will soon publish several measures beamed at stopping the spread of coronavirus in the country.
Most importantly, he asked his people to avoid a normal handshake and adopt the Indian ‘Namaste’ while greeting people. The PM informed that this step can be done easily to stop the spread of the virus, which has claimed over 3,200 lives so far across the world.
“Avoid shaking hands. Just avoid shaking hands. As I do. You can try to implement an Indian practice of Namaste. Or say another word, Shalom. Or find a way to avoid shaking hands,” said PM Netanyahu.
It’s not a surprise seeing Benjamin Netanyahu teaching his people the Indian custom. The 70-year-old is well-known with Indian customs and respects the tradition. He is known to be close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi with their bonhomie being publicly discussed in Indian and Israeli media. He often calls his counterpart to greet him on various occasions.
Coronavirus in Israel
Israel has identified 15 cases of the dangerous virus but has not reported any deaths. The country has also reported a total of 7,000 who are put in home-quarantine. Moreover, public gatherings of more than 5,000 people have been banned in Israel and the government has asked people to avoid going abroad.
“We are in the middle of a global epidemic. Despite the current situation, Israel has done well as it was quick in taking action to prevent the spread of the virus in the country, ” Netanyahu said
“We have had to take rigorous steps to slow the spread of the disease in Israel, we have taken select isolation and flight policies and measures for flights,” he added..
