Israeli occupation spread creep up despite Purim under control

Israel on Sunday saw its coronavirus reproduction number rise to 0.99, despite the Purim holiday, the third nationwide closure, and the success of its robust vaccination campaign which has already reached a total of 3 million Israelis to include.

The reproduction or number R indicates how many other people have contracted the virus. A number less than 1 indicates that the spread of the virus is declining. The R number had fallen to 0.79 last Sunday but has been climbing slowly ever since.

Currently, the R number in the Arab community is 1.12, in the ultra-orthodox region it is 0.81 and among the general population it is 0.96.

Israel has emerged from its third national lockdown earlier this month, with some schoolchildren returning and businesses reopening.

Ach coronavirus czar Prof. Nachman Ash warned Sunday that another rise in the R number could jeopardize any further measures to lift restrictions such as the return of children at levels 7-10 and the reopening of cafes and restaurants on March 7.

“If the R number stays as it is today the [steps] it will be possible, final but possible, “said Ash.

“If it goes beyond that, however, we need to carefully consider the situation.”

According to Ash, any decision to reopen further would take into account other variables such as the number of COVID patients in poor condition.

This number has fallen recently in Israel, which was due to widespread vaccination, especially among senior citizens.

There are currently 40,108 active coronavirus patients in Israel. The number includes 776 people in poor condition, with 241 connected to airmen.

Ash said that despite continuing to relax restrictions, the government is still unaware of the impact of the recent economic reopening on the level of infection across the country.

He said the next steps out of lockdown may be to reopen the education system.

“Education is our first priority,” Ash said. “Trade is our second priority. As with restaurants, it may be possible to find solutions such as opening but allowing outside seating. “

Ash also said it was too early right now to see if there would be any restrictions for the Passover holidays, which start on March 27th.

“Right now I have a really hard time predicting what might happen at Easter,” he said.

“It simply came to our notice then [reopening]. Is that something we will be able to do? I do not know. “

The coronavirus czar said the major breaches of Purim health restrictions would cause the level of infection to rise.

“There will no doubt be some bad effects that we will see in two weeks,” Ash said, referring to the images of hundreds of people gathering on the streets to celebrate the festival.

“I believe that as a result of the breaches, we will see an increase in the number R, along with additional issues,” he said.

The Ministry of Health said Sunday morning that 1,429 new cases of coronavirus had been diagnosed in the previous 24 hours. With 24,291 tests performed, the current fallback rate is 5.8%.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, 5,738 people have died as a result of coronavirus complications in Israel.

.Source