Cabinet approved: Closed for two weeks starting Sunday at 5 p.m.

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Going to a third closure: The government approved tonight (Wednesday) the imposition of a general closure from Sunday at 5 p.m. The morbidity target set for termination of quarantine is a daily number of infections below 1000 and the coefficient of infection is less than 1. According to the outline, the closure will last for two weeks, but if it is not yet achieved, the closure will be extended for another two weeks.

Prime Minister Netanyahu at the end of the Corona Cabinet meeting, on Sunday // Photo: GPO

During the closure, there will be a restriction of movement of 1,000 meters from the house and it will be forbidden to stay in another person’s house. Trade will be completely closed, with the exception of delivery services, public transportation will be reduced by 50% and the education system will operate partially.

The Ministry of Health warns that even a partial opening of the education system or the trade system – means a practical abolition of traffic restrictions – that will lower the effectiveness of the closure. However, the current outline includes the opening of studies in kindergartens, and in grades 1-4 and 11-12. Classes will be held from 08:00 to 13:00. Parents will be allowed to drive their children from 07:00 in the morning until 14:00 (one hour after graduation). As in the previous closure, this time too special education will operate at all ages.

Also within the limits: Gatherings will be limited to up to 20 people in open space and 10 in closed spaces, businesses without an audience will work in a 50% format. The layout of the “Green Islands” will be completely stopped. The transfer of children between parents will be allowed in joint custody. More individual sports with no distance limit.

At the same time, the Corona Ministerial Committee tonight approved an outline gathering in prayer houses ahead of Christmas. Under the layout, in a closed structure with more than one entrance, a gathering of ten people will be allowed on each opening, and up to 10 capsules. In an open area, a gathering of up to 100 people will be allowed. The special conditions approved are valid for the following dates:

– Starting tomorrow, 24.12.20 at 17.00 until Friday 25.12.20 at 20.00.

– 6.1.21 at 17.00 until 7.1.21 at 20.00.

– 18.1.21 at 17.00 until 19.1.21 at 20.00.

The morbidity is alarming

Data presented in a presentation presented by the Ministry of Health at the cabinet meeting show that 27% of the morbidity today is in the Arab sector, 18% in the ultra-Orthodox sector and 53% in the general sector. 53 cities in the country are considered red, 89 orange, 135 yellow and about 1,000 cities, towns and districts are green.

Golan Heights checkpoint in the previous closure // Photo: Eyal Margolin - Ginny

According to the Ministry of Health’s forecast, within two weeks the number of verified people may double to 6,000 a day or more, and in about 3 weeks it can reach 9,000 a day. Purpose of the closure: to reduce the number of verified persons to at least one thousand per day, at the same time as lowering the R to less than 1.

The number of serious patients in December (to date) stands at 1,360, compared with 2,495 at the peak of the second wave in October and 929 in November. However, the Ministry of Health warns that the congestion in the health funds due to the increase in morbidity is taking place against the background of the “give a shoulder” vaccination campaign, which requires logistical preparation and reinforcement of manpower.

“We have reached about 5% verified”

At the beginning of the meeting, Prime Minister Netanyahu said: “The question is if there are so many vaccines, why should restrictive measures be taken? After all, it is difficult, we understand that the restrictions are severe for the citizens of Israel. The answer is that speed here is critical, the disease doubles itself every few days and the rate of vaccines, however fast, does not double itself. He can not keep up with the insane rate of disease outbreak. If we do not stop it now, we will see a greater increase in morbidity. “

“We missed the tight restraint train – there is no escape from a locksmith,” said Health Minister Yuli Edelstein during a visit to the Mediterranean Towers in Ganei Tikva, where he met with the first vaccinated person as part of the “Magen Avot VeIhmot” project, where MDA stores seniors and homes. “The Ministry of Health is working hard to further accelerate vaccinations,” Edelstein added. “The goal is to reach more than 60,000 vaccinators a day. We have reached more than 5% in the verified rate, and the infection coefficient today stands at 1.3. It can be declared in a completely non-festive way – we are in the third wave of the Corona. “
Route 6 is empty of cars during the second closure, in September // Photo: Michelle dot com

The average number of people infected last week was 2,863. This will cross the red line of 2,500 infected people a day, which, according to the cabinet’s decision, will require more than tight restraint. A senior Ministry of Health official noted that at a level of about 5,000 infected per day, the exit time from a locksmith could take about five weeks. The senior official also said that as a lesson from the exit from the second quarantine, a threshold of 1,000 infected per day will be set this time instead of 2,000, as was the case in October.

The Armed Forces warns that without further drastic containment measures, and based on the current rate of spread, the 10,000-infected threshold will be crossed by mid-January.

About 3,700 new verified

According to the morbidity data published last night by the Ministry of Health, an additional 3,730 verified patients were diagnosed on Monday in 93,772 tests. The rate of positive tests was 4.1%. Yesterday, by 6:15 p.m., 1,302 infections were reported, which is 3.4% out of 37,998 tests. It should be noted that this is a peak in laboratory tests, and Israel is approaching the maximum capacity of the laboratories – 100,000 tests per day.

There was also a large increase in the number of active patients, and in less than two weeks it almost tripled. According to the data, there are 27,551 active patients in Israel. The hospitals hospitalize 861 patients, including 499 in critical condition, 116 respirators, and 161 whose condition is defined as moderate. In addition, it was reported that there are 2,712 verified and isolated health staff members. The death toll stands at 3,128 people.

Corona test in the Upper Galilee, last week // Photo: Eyal Margolin, Ginny

The hotel panic

Meanwhile, against the background of Edelstein’s statement about a possible walk to the closure, many Israelis tried to find flights at the last minute to get to Israel before the entry into force of the isolation obligation in hotels. On Sunday this week, Ural took off abroad, during which it was updated on the Corona Cabinet’s decision to oblige returnees to isolation in hotels. “We tried to get flights and were unsuccessful,” he said. “After a lot of pressure and drama, we were informed that we would board a flight with which we would arrive in Israel two hours before the obligation to insulate in a motel begins, so that we would at least pass the insulation at home.”

Participated in the preparation of the article: Shimon Yaish and Assaf Golan

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