Israel could have a ‘normal passover’ if it adheres to virus rules, says a chief health official

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A senior health official said Tuesday night that Israelis may be able to recover from “normal” later this month if the public adheres to coronavirus restrictions.

Head of Public Health Ministry of Health Sharon Elroy-Preis told a press conference that it would not be necessary to impose restrictions on Jewish holidays – which were due to start on March 27 – if new disease numbers continued to fall. .

“I don’t think it’s necessary at this point to talk about restrictions on Passover, everything could have changed by then,” Elroy-Preis said. “If this continues, there will be no need for restrictions. If we keep masks on and keep our pace … we will have a normal holiday.”

Dr. Elroy-Preis also said Israel has not yet seen a surgeon in coronavirus infections after Purim and the illegal beauty parties held during the holidays, but said it was still too early to conclude that the country has made it through the concerts without a loss.

This week Israel began the third phase of its lockout exit plan, lifting a number of major restrictions, including some that have been in place since September. Dr. Elroy-Preis the country should continue to lift the restrictions as expected.

“We are certainly seeing a reduction in the number of patients in poor condition and emergency. In the last few weeks, we have seen an upward trend in extreme morbidity among young people , “she said. “Most people are connected to lung organs under the age of 60 and some are even under the age of 40. Overall, all deaths are painful, but we’ve seen less and Looking at the whole picture, we decide we can keep it open. “

When asked about the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conclusion to allow fully protected individuals against COVID-19 to meet in small groups with other vaccinated individuals without a face mask, Drs. Elroy-Preis said it was still early to follow in the footsteps of the U.S..

According to her, the Israelis will be able to walk in public without wearing a face mask once there are data on the effectiveness of the vaccine in preventing further spread of the virus.

Also Tuesday, the head of Israel’s national coronavirus response center expressed hope that the country seemed to have managed to avoid an increase in coronavirus infections after the Purim holidays in late February.

Tomer Lotan said there has been a sharp decline in the country ‘s breeding population (R), which shows how many more people have contracted the virus, despite widespread Purim speculation. against health rules.

“Our R number is currently at 0.95, just 10 days after Purim. We were afraid of a higher number at this point, and when I saw that number today, I settled a bit,” Lotan said. .

According to Lotan, the decline is even more impressive with recent measures to reopen large areas of the country ‘s economy and education system, which could both adversely affect Israel’ s occupancy rate.

“We would expect that, in the event of any major disruption, we would see some sort of movement in this 10-day period. But even so in the last two days in particular we have seen the number R ‘, he said.

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