Israeli police check a driver in a car at a checkpoint on a main road in Jerusalem as they try to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), April 12, 2020. Photo: Reuters / Ammar Awad.

The head of IDF Home Front Command said on Monday that the coronavirus crisis would continue for at least another year, but a gradual and partial return to normal life was possible.

Israel currently remains under a general lockdown except for essential services. However, authorities have begun to hint at an easing of restrictions after the Passover holiday ends later this week.

The Israeli news site Walla reported that Home Front Command chief Maj. Gen. Tamir Yadai called the coronavirus pandemic “a long-term event that will accompany us for at least the next year.”

“It would be correct to talk with citizens about a coping strategy and not an exit strategy,” he added.

“We shouldn’t create false illusions that at the end of Passover we all return to [normal] functioning” he said.

However, Yadai noted that a gradual loosening of the restrictions currently in place was possible. For example, he said, the lockdown could be lifted in cities with younger populations.

“Our goal is to prevent cities from becoming ‘red,’” he said, referring to a high mortality rate. “There are many parameters we look at: population density, age aspects, socioeconomic status, economic stability.”

“We will do well if we return gradually as quickly as possible to a certain routine, mainly work,” Yadai stated. “Alongside the corona, there are considerable problems in the economic and social aspects that need to be addressed. The sooner we get there, the better.”