Eligible Israelis will be able to get vaccinated by the end of this week. More than one million rapid test kits arrive in Israel to be used by schools ahead of the academic year. The Coronavirus Cabinet is set to convene on Sunday afternoon to discuss whether to open the school year on time.
As of Sunday morning, all Haredi cities in Israel were designated as "red," except for Beitar Ilit, which is designated "orange."
"If you go get vaccinated with a third shot, we will be able to avoid a fourth lockdown," says Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, as government extends its booster campaign for people over 40 to try to curb the Delta coronavirus variant.
The Delta variant is about twice as infectious as the original coronavirus strain and 60% more contagious than the Alpha variant.
Israel began administering third doses to people over 60 in July, later dropping the minimum age of eligibility to 50 and offering boosters to health workers and others.
Prime Minister visits vaccination center in Tayibe, urges Arab leadership to push vaccines. Number of patients hospitalized in serious condition tops 600. Maccabi Health Services study shows booster to be "highly effective" in preventing spread of virus, including Delta strain.
Researchers from the Weizmann Institute, France's Pasteur Institute, and the US National Institutes of Health have developed a novel treatment that targets a cell membrane that allows SARS-CoV-2 to enter.
Coronavirus Commissioner Professor Salman Zarka believes the current restrictions imposed on public life are insufficient to quell the outbreak fueled by the highly aggressive Delta variant.
As Israel records its highest numbers of new daily cases since February, a group of experts from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem who accurately predicted the current COVID wave issues grim warning if morbidity is not brought down.
Social media users say the government has mismanagement over slow vaccinations with only 3.8 million people fully vaccinated in a population of 83 million.