ISRAEL’S DAILY COVID-19 CASELOAD EXCEEDS 1,000 AS 5TH WAVE BEGINS

Mon 20 December 2021:

On Sunday, Israel’s Health Ministry reported over 1,000 new coronavirus cases per day, as the government approved the ministry’s recommendation to classify the United States, Italy, Belgium, Germany, Hungary, Morocco, Portugal, Canada, Switzerland, and Turkey as “red” states and impose a travel ban on them.

This is the first time in two months that the number of new cases in Israel has exceeded 1,000, after 1,035 daily cases reported on Oct. 20.

In the week of December 12-18, an average of 694 new cases per day were recorded. The previous week there were 613, and the week before that 519.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett warned on Sunday the Omicron COVID-19 variant has caused the fifth wave of the pandemic, following the recent sharp rise in COVID-19 morbidity in the country.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met with Education Minister Yifat Shasha Biton on Monday to discuss the vaccination drive in schools, as the campaign to immunize children aged 5 to 11 years old is moving slowly, with only about 150,000 children out of a population of over one million being vaccinated.

“We do not intend to close the skies, but it could be that in practice this is what is going to happen,” said Coronavirus Commissioner Prof. Salman Zarka, speaking before a joint session of the Knesset Health and Constitution committees.

Israeli borders have already been closed to foreign nationals since the end of November, with very limited exceptions.

The number of active cases in Israel rose to 7,231, compared with 5,383 on Dec. 3.

The death toll from the virus stands at 8,232, while the number of patients in serious condition has dropped to 81, according to the ministry.

Israel reported 40 new Omicron cases on Sunday, bringing the number of confirmed cases to 175.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

Photo: Health officials set up a test unit for drivers as a precaution against coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic in Jerusalem on 30 March 2020 [Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu Agency]

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