Uri stated that Prestige's activity "suffered a severe blow" due to the Corona pandemic, the death of a significant percentage of the nursing home residents, and the eviction of residents from the nursing home in accordance with the instructions of the Ministry of Health. Uri elaborated that with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, infection began in the nursing home, and the Ministry of Health did not have a response regarding the procedure for treating the infected, and the number of tests required to locate the infected, and due to a shortage of staff members (due to their infection with the disease), the Ministry of Health decided to evacuate healthy residents from the nursing home. The number of infected people in the ward where the cases of infection occurred increased, while a large number of healthy residents left the nursing home. As a result, the nursing home's activity was severely damaged, with revenues falling sharply, and the number of residents, which stood at 140 on the eve of the pandemic, dropped to only 40 residents (paragraphs 15-19 of Uri's affidavit). As a result of a decline in revenues, luxury lagged behind in rent payments, and as a result of the aforesaid, the landlord initiated legal proceedings against it.
He reiterated what was stated in his testimony:
" The witness, Mr. Weisbord: I was the first to have the Ministry of Health shave my beard, what to do. How to deal with a place where there has been an outbreak of coronavirus. As a result, the Ministry of Health caused tremendous damage. He gave me a healthy ward, there were 5 wards on the premises. He took a healthy ward, contrary to my request, also to the request of my professional medical staff, who contacted their counterparts in the Ministry of Health and said to evacuate the infected, sick ward, put things in order and then see what to do. They did exactly the opposite. They left the infected ward with me, Pino,
The Honorable Judge Yaron: Yes, you wrote it in the affidavit as well.