The highly contagious delta variant continues to wreak havoc across Israel and the government is looking for new ways to increase the vaccination rate.
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The Health Ministry reported Sunday that of the 76,203 Israelis it screened for the coronavirus on Saturday, 2,886 (3.83%) tested positive.
There are now 32,300 active cases in the country. As of Sunday morning, 602 Israelis were hospitalized, of whom 348 were in serious condition – the highest number reported since April 1.
The number of COVID deaths rose to 6,535 on Saturday after two Israelis succumbed to the virus. Israel has reported 859,598 confirmed coronavirus cases since the outbreak of the pandemic last year.
According to ministry data, most of the newly infected are Israelis under the age of 60, and 51% are Israelis in their 20s. The worrying data has prompted the Health Ministry to consider expanding its third dose vaccination campaign, currently for Israelis over the age of 60, to include all Israelis older than 16. So far, 422,326 senior citizens have received a third jab.
The government is also mulling imposing a national lockdown during the upcoming High Holidays in September, however, Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz said Sunday that a lockdown would be "the last resort."
Instead, he called on Israelis to wear protective masks, follow safety guidelines, and most importantly, get vaccinated.
He also launched Israel's rapid COVID test campaign by becoming the first Israeli to receive such a test. In a televised broadcast, he explained that starting Sunday, Israelis across the entire country will be able to take a rapid test and receive their results in a whopping 15 minutes.
"We must all understand that the coronavirus is not going to disappear any time soon. The rapid testing system is an infrastructure that will allow us to lead normal lives alongside the virus," Horowitz said.
Horowitz told reporters that the government was "working together with local authorities and educational institutions across all of Israel to encourage vaccinations [among Israeli youth], starting with the ultra-Orthodox sector.
He explained that the program would "cost money, but it is nothing compared to what a lockdown would cost the economy."
The government initially wanted to work with the schools directly, but Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Bitton said last week that she opposed the move.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked decided to bypass the education minister's opposition and work with the local authorities instead.
They also decided to financially reward schools that have a high percentage of vaccinated children and set up mobile vaccination sites outside schools that report low inoculation rates.
In any case, Horowitz said, if the morbidity rate continued to rise, the government would have no choice but implement a lockdown.
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