Some 62% of Israelis believe a fourth lockdown is only a matter of time, a survey conducted for the Tel-Aviv-based 103FM radio station revealed on Monday.
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Some 591 Jewish and Arab Israelis took part in a poll conducted by the Panels Politics research institute. The data revealed that not only did most respondents believe that a fourth lockdown was imminent, but they also expected it to be instated in the upcoming weeks.
Despite the participants' gloomy prediction, the coronavirus does seem to be on the down-low. On Tuesday, the Health Ministry reported that of the 95,505 tests it administered the day before, 3,662 came back positive, a number significantly lower compared to previous months. The ministry did note, however, that 50% of those that tested positive were under the age of 30. The current infection rate stands at 4%. The coronavirus reproduction rate (R) in Israel continues to decrease and currently stands at 0.99.
There are 38,650 active cases in the country. Some 1,089 Israelis are being hospitalized, of whom 668 are in serious condition and 212 are on ventilators.
Israel reported 806,841 cases and 5,922 deaths since the outbreak of the pandemic. To date, 762,269 Israelis have recovered from the virus.
The Jewish state continues its world-class vaccination campaign, which achieved a landmark on Monday, having vaccinated five million Israelis with the first shot of the inoculation.
Attending the vaccination of the five millionth recipient, a pregnant 34-year-old from Petach Tikva, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu predicted that the entire adult population would be immunized by the end of April.
Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said the success of the immunization campaign meant that the government could "open up almost everything, the economy, sport, leisure, tourism."
Some 3,859,111 Israelis have been vaccinated with both doses. The Health Ministry announced Sunday that fewer than 1 in 100 Israelis who had received both jabs ended up contracting the virus.
Meanwhile, Pfizer announced Monday that its vaccine was effective against the Brazilian variant, according to a laboratory study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
In previously published studies, Pfizer had found that its vaccine neutralized other more contagious variants first identified in Britain and South Africa, although the South African variant may reduce protective antibodies elicited by the vaccine.
Pfizer said it believed its current vaccine is highly likely to still protect against the South African variant. However, the drugmaker is planning to test a third booster dose of their vaccine as well as a version retooled specifically to combat the variant in order to better understand the immune response.
Meanwhile, the vaccination campaign in the US is yielding results as well. Fully inoculated Americans can gather with other vaccinated people indoors without wearing a mask or social distancing, according to long-awaited guidance the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Monday.
The recommendations also say that vaccinated people can come together in the same way – in a single household – with people considered at low-risk for severe diseases, such as in the case of vaccinated grandparents visiting healthy children and grandchildren.
"With more and more people vaccinated each day, we are starting to turn a corner," CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said.
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During a press briefing Monday, she called the guidance a "first step" toward restoring normalcy in how people come together. She said more activities would be approved for vaccinated individuals once caseloads and deaths decline, more Americans are vaccinated, and as more science emerges on the ability of those who have been vaccinated to get and spread the virus.
The CDC is continuing to recommend that fully vaccinated people still wear well-fitted masks, avoid large gatherings, and physically distance themselves from others when out in public.
i24NEWS contributed to this report.
