Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Defense Minister Benny Gantz, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, commander of the IDF Home Front Command Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin, and other high-ranking military officials visited the headquarters of the Home Front Command's Alon Epidemiological Investigations Task Force headquarters on Tuesday.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
Bennett received an overview of the task force's activities and its program for outreach to local authorities, as well as its efforts to cut off chains of infection.
"Israel is fighting a war against the Delta variant, which is pummeling the entire world. As in every war, the defense establishment, the IDF, its commander and soldiers, are at the forefront – with health officials, in this case – and are doing outstanding work on all fronts: vaccinations, testing, outreach to citizens, and contact tracing," Bennett said.
"I would like to express appreciation for the IDF's devoted and professional work. 90% of COVID patients in serious condition are over 50. That means that nine out of every 10 seriously ill patients are over 50. So I'm asking all Israelis over age 50 to take extra precautions in the next few weeks. Anyone over 60 who still hasn't received a third vaccination, should," the prime minister said.
"The vaccination drive is a great success – already, over 600,000 Israelis over 60 have gotten a booster shot. That's nearly 50% within a few days. Israel is the only country in the world that is allowing its older population to receive booster shots. The vaccines are safe and effective. If you haven't gotten one, go do it now. It will protect your lives," he continued.
"With God's help, all of us together will continue to fight to stop the Delta pandemic. We're working very intensely to start flattening the curve so we can overcome the pandemic with minimal harm and minimal restrictions," Bennett concluded.
Gantz said, "We will help the healthcare system in any way possible when it comes to the national mission before us. We call on anyone who hasn't been vaccinated to take personal responsibility and do so."
Meanwhile, the number of new confirmed cases of the coronavirus rose sharply Monday, along with the percentage of tests coming back positive, as the government continues to struggle to contain the ongoing outbreak of the highly contagious Delta variant that started in late June.
According to data released by the Health Ministry Tuesday morning, a total of 6,275 new cases of the coronavirus were diagnosed across Israel on Monday, up from 3,421 a day earlier.
Of the 6,275 new cases reported Monday, 44.3% were unvaccinated, compared to 54% who were fully vaccinated, and 1.7% who had received one dose of the vaccine.
The percentage of tests coming back positive also rose, rising from 3.9% on Sunday to 4.84% Monday.
There are now 35,466 known active cases of the virus in Israel. A total of 648 patients are hospitalized with COVID.
Of those, 394 are in serious condition, up from 379 on Monday. That is the highest number since March 30th.
There are 87 patients in critical condition, including 64 on respirators.
Among seriously ill patients, 36% are not vaccinated, compared to 61% who are fully vaccinated and 3% who received one dose of the vaccine.
Despite introducing a third vaccine dose to older adults and approving tighter restrictions for the general public, the daily numbers continue to rise, which prompted the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to raise its COVID-19 travel alert level for Israel to the highest risk warning – level four.
The CDC also warned against travel to France, Thailand, Iceland and several other countries because of a rising number of COVID-19 cases in those nations.
In July, the CDC had raised concerns about Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, lifting its travel health notice by two levels to "Level 3: High."
The CDC also hiked alert levels to "Level 3: High" for Austria, Croatia, El Salvador, Azerbaijan, Guam, Kenya and Jamaica. The CDC says unvaccinated travelers should avoid nonessential travel to those countries.
Health Ministry Director-General Prof Nachman Ash said on Monday that the government was doing everything possible to avoid a fourth lockdown.
Consequently, the Israel Police on Tuesday launched a comprehensive enforcement campaign to try stemming the tide of the fourth wave.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
According to the police, the operation, which will consist of thousands of police officers, is a top priority, will come at the expense of other routine law enforcement duties, and will consist of three central elements: enforcing home isolations, the so-called "Green Pass," and mask-wearing.
According to high-ranking police officials, Bennett said at the most recent meeting of the coronavirus cabinet that the Delta variant was four times more infectious than the original variant.
i24NEWS contributed to this report.
