"The coronavirus is probably here to stay for many more years, but the difficult crises are behind us," Health Minister Yuli Edelstein told Channel 12 News, Sunday.
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Speaking at the opening of a cultural center in Bat Yam, Edelstein said, "Our level of concern has dropped a bit, and I really hope we do not have additional lockdowns."
According to Health Ministry data published Monday, 2,331 of the 65,036 people who tested for the coronavirus, Sunday, were found to be infected with COVID-19, for an infection rate of 3.7%
There are currently 37,698 active cases of the virus, 708 of which are serious. Of those in serious condition, 223 are on ventilators. While 759,438 Israelis have recovered from the virus, 5,899 have died.
Over 4.96 million people have received at least the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, and over 3.78 million have received both doses.
Coronavirus czar Nachman Ash told Israel Radio, Sunday, that mask-wearing in public may be unnecessary and "may not be enforced by police."
He said, "At this stage, we do not yet know the degree of protection of the vaccine, so we prefer to protect ourselves" and not make any changes to current policy.
"It is not over. We must continue to be careful, maintaining social distance, and wearing masks. We have a way to go until it's over," he said
Health authorities fear the spread of new variants across the country, especially a new strain from New York that could prove resistant to the vaccine. So far, three cases of the strain have been identified in Israel.
Ash did, however, warn that the government would not hesitate to impose a fourth national lockdown on the country if health officials detect a spike in infections.
The head of public health services at the Health Ministry was also cautiously optimistic about the state of the pandemic in Israel during an interview with Army Radio, Monday.
Calling current morbidity rates "relatively stable," the head of public health services at the Health Ministry Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis said, "If it continues this way, there's no reason for there to be restrictions on Passover."
She did, however, express concern over the reopening of Israel's economy, Sunday, saying, "If we don't continue to adhere to the guidelines, we may go backward."
Alroy-Preis was most troubled by the reopening of Ben-Gurion Airport, noting, "We saw significant morbidity among those returning from overseas. We opened Ben-Gurion Airport without a clear plan for improved enforcement. There's a risk of bringing in a variant that makes the vaccine campaign ineffective."
Meanwhile, with the number of Israelis getting vaccinated for the coronavirus on the decline, some of Israel's healthcare providers are looking to reduce the number of vaccination stations they operate and eventually inoculate Israelis at healthcare clinics only.
The number of Israelis that received the first dose decreased from anywhere from 50-85,000 last week to between 39,000 and 45,000 this week. On Saturday, just 11,000 were inoculated with their first dose, and 25,000 received their second dose.
In recent weeks, vaccination efforts have focused on smaller communities and those located in Israel's periphery with the help of Magen David Adom mobile vaccination units. These units, along with the reopening of stadiums and conference centers where several healthcare providers had set up camp, led to the move.
Gil Weinstein from the Meuhedet healthcare provider said, "We're now looking ahead in case there's a need to repeat a vaccine dose or vaccinate children. We want to open vaccination stations at permanent branches. The trend is one of just like how people get vaccinated for the flu, they'll get vaccinated for corona."
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