Israel's coronavirus infection rate stands at 3.81%, according to Health Ministry data published Friday. Of the 120,967 people who tested for the virus Thursday, 4,313 were found to have the disease.
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This week, an average of 3,889 daily infections were recorded as opposed to the average of 7,861 in the first week of September.
There are 46,647 active cases of the virus. There are 607 people in serious condition, 214 of whom are on ventilators. The number of serious cases is now the lowest seen since Aug. 21.
Although 1,229,494 Israelis have recovered from the virus since the outbreak of the pandemic, 7,761 have died.
Over 6 million Israelis – 6,119,945 – have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, while 5,641,166 have received two doses. Over 3.4 million have received all three available doses of the vaccine. With Israelis set to require three vaccine doses to be eligible for the green pass starting Sunday, a record 78,000 received their third jab Thursday.
In an interview with 103FM Radio Friday, Ash said: "I don't believe we're managing the coronavirus [pandemic] conservatively. How can that be said after we made such far-reaching decisions as a booster shot?"
As for restrictions aimed at reining in infections, Ash said, "I'm not sure we need additional restrictions. We are experiencing a good downward trend. We consider things matter-of-factly each time. I don't have an instinct to propose restrictions at each meeting."
He said: "My sense is that we are on track to existing this wave. If I had to guess, there won't be a fifth wave. It depends on us getting vaccinated. The current wave broke out because we had a fairly large population that wasn't vaccinated. It also depends on whether the vaccine will be effective for longer."
He noted there would be as much enforcement of restriction. "People need to make the decision not to enter an event where they don't test [for coronavirus] because there is a higher risk [of infection] there."
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met with Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz, Health Ministry Director-General Nachman Ash, coronavirus chief Salman Zarka, and head of Public Health Services at the Health Ministry Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis to smooth things over following senior ministry officials' criticism of his remarks at the UN General Assembly earlier this week. In his address, Bennett said that while he respects the experts, he opposes the kinds of sweeping restrictions recommended by the ministry, the premier met with senior ministry officials Thursday. In a joint statement following their meeting, officials relayed a message of reconciliation and cooperation.
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