Has the COVID pandemic changed people's priorities? The answer, of course, is "yes."

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A new study conducted in Britain in February 2021, seven months after the country instated a mask mandate for public spaces, found that women were more attracted to men wearing masks than to men with their faces exposed.

The results of the study, which have yet to undergo the peer review process, indicate that women's perception of what constitutes attractiveness in men has changed completely, since a similar study from Japan, conducted prior to the pandemic in 2016, found that woman were significantly more attracted to men whose faces were exposed than to men wearing face masks.

The lead researcher on the team was Dr. Michael Lewis of Cardiff University. Lewis' team took a group of 43 female students who looked at 40 faces of conventionally attractive men. The women were asked to rate how attractive they found each man, some of whom were wearing surgical masks in accordance with COVID regulations, some of whom were wearing surgical masks incorrectly, and some of whom were pictured without masks at all.

The men whose pictures showed them correctly wearing surgical masks were ranked the most attractive.

Lewis said he was not surprised by the results, noting that in the pre-pandemic Japanese study, women associated men in masks with illness. But today, he said, masks were associated with calm and protection, leading the women to feel more attraction to and sympathy with the men wearing masks.

The university plans to run a similar study to see whether or not men were more attracted to women wearing masks.

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Twitter said Sunday it had banned the personal account of far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene for multiple violations of the platform's COVID-19 misinformation policy, the latest strike against the firebrand whose embrace of conspiracy theories has been called "a cancer" for the GOP and led the House to boot her from committees.

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The Georgia Republican's account was permanently suspended under the "strike" system Twitter launched in March, which uses artificial intelligence to identify posts about the coronavirus that are misleading enough to cause harm to people. Two or three strikes earn a 12-hour account lock. Four strikes prompt a weeklong suspension. Five or more strikes can get someone permanently removed from Twitter.

In a statement on the messaging app Telegram, Greene blasted Twitter's move as un-American. She wrote that her account was suspended after tweeting statistics from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, a government database that includes unverified raw data.

"Twitter is an enemy to America and can't handle the truth," Greene said. "That's fine, I'll show America we don't need them and it's time to defeat our enemies."

Twitter had previously suspended Greene's personal account for periods ranging from 12 hours to a full week. The ban applies to Greene's personal account, @mtgreenee, but does not affect her official Twitter account, @RepMTG.

The first-term lawmaker has repeatedly stirred controversy over inflammatory commentary.

On social media, she has voiced support for racist views, unfounded QAnon pro-Donald Trump conspiracy theories such as the lie that the 2020 election was stolen and calls for violence against Democratic politicians, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Last February, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell called her embrace of conspiracy theories and "loony lies" a "cancer for the Republican Party." The Democratic-led House that same month tossed her from her two committee assignments, the House Education and Labor Committee as well as the House Budget Committee.

In July, Twitter suspended Greene for a week after US President Joe Biden urged tech companies to take stronger action against bogus vaccine claims that are "killing people." Twitter has defended its efforts to keep dangerous misinformation about COVID-19 off its site, saying it has removed thousands of tweets and challenged millions of accounts worldwide.

A few weeks prior, Greene caused widespread offense when, speaking on a conservative podcast, she compared mask mandates to Nazi policies during the Holocaust (a reference to the yellow Stars of David Jews were forced to wear).

Among Greene's final tweets was one Saturday that falsely referenced "extremely high amounts of covid vaccine deaths," according to tweets stored in the Internet Archive.

Last week, Greene also boasted on Twitter about talking to the former president by phone. She said she had received Trump's permission to clarify his stance that he is against vaccine mandates though he encourages people to get the vaccine and booster. Trump was booed by some audience members in Dallas on Dec. 19 when he said he had received a COVID-19 booster shot.

On Sunday, the White House's top medical adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said the US has been seeing almost a "vertical increase" of new COVID-19 cases, now averaging 400,000 cases a day, with hospitalizations also up. The Omicron variant of COVID-19 has driven a surge in new cases across the country.

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A third round of COVID vaccinations for the elderly is "vital" to avoid more stringent restrictions on the population than those already in place, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Wednesday as he inaugurated a new Clalit Health Services vaccination center at Cinema City in Jerusalem.

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"Our goal is to keep Israel open, but we will not allow ourselves to reach a situation in which hospitals, heaven forbid, might be forced to say, 'We don't have room.' That can't happen in Israel," Bennett said.

"In order to avoid much harsher restrictions, we'll wear masks, we'll maintain social distancing. It's up to us," the prime minister added.

"There are countries were there aren't enough vaccines for the population, whose people are hungry for them, and here the government is investing billions to make vaccines available everywhere in Israel. And still there are a million Israelis who simply refuse to be vaccinated. There are over 600,000 young people under age 30 who haven't been vaccinated," Bennett said.

On Tuesday, after a four-hour discussion, the Corona cabinet decided to reinstate the Green Pass regulations for events in which fewer than 100 are participating, for all ages.

However, despite efforts to find alternative ways of stemming a swelling fourth wave of COVID-19 in Israel, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said in the meeting that "most likely" there would be no option but to declare a lockdown unless Israel could conduct a massive vaccination campaign for citizens age 60 and over within a few weeks.

The cabinet decided that starting Sunday, masks would be mandatory at events including more than 100 participants, even if they are held outdoors. Meanwhile, government offices will send 50% of their staff to work from home. Vaccinated parents who care for children under 12 or other vulnerable individuals who have been confirmed as COVID carriers will be required to self-quarantine.

The cabinet also decided to increase enforcement of quarantine and mask-wearing in public.

As far as travel, the prohibition on visiting countries listed "red" due to high rates of coronavirus there remains in place, unless an Israeli obtains a special exemption, will be expanded to countries designated "orange." Starting Sunday, Israelis returning from orange destinations will be required to quarantine, even if they are vaccinated or have recovered from COVID-19.

The cabinet also confirmed an earlier decision by the Knesset (Labor, Welfare and Health Committee to add 18 countries to the severe travel warning list following a recommendation by the Health Ministry.

The newly added countries are Ukraine, Italy, Iceland, Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), United States, Botswana, Bulgaria, Germany, Netherlands, Tanzania, Greece, Malawi, Egypt, Czech Republic, France, Cuba, Rwanda, and Tunisia.

Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz recommends that the public wear masks in crowded outdoor spaces, saying, "The virus is spread there, too. Our emphasis is on enclosed spaces first, but the recommendation is also to wear masks at outdoor gatherings."

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"The number of new cases is very worrying, and we are concerned about the spike. We want to increase the steps we are taking to battle the virus and [increase] the percentage of vaccinated Israelis. Our vaccination numbers are good, but we want to reach 150,000 per day," Horowitz said.

A total of 3,313 new COVID cases were identified nationwide on Tuesday, the Health Ministry reported Wednesday morning, meaning that 3.36% of the 98,663 tests processed in that 24-hour period came back positive.

As of Wednesday morning, 449 COVID patients were hospitalized, including 229 listed in serious condition.

As the world battles the highly contagious delta variant, new research from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem indicates that the official global COVID-19 death toll of 4.22 million people is short by some 1 million fatalities.

Inaccuracies in some countries and deliberate underreporting in others have combined to downplay the true figure, researchers said.

While this assertion is not unique, the work of economist Ariel Karlinsky and statistician Dr. Dmitry Kobak is the first time the theory has been peer-reviewed, the Times of Israel reported.

The estimate of more than 1 million unreported COVID deaths is based on the 103 countries studied, and is likely to rise as additional nations' data is included in the research, the TOI report explained.

Researchers noted that underreporting is higher in authoritarian countries where dictators are often inclined to suppress information about government failures.

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The new government's Corona cabinet convened for the first time on Sunday to discuss a spike in new confirmed cases, due mostly to the highly contagious Delta variant.

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National Coronavirus Coordinator Professor Nachman Ash, who has just been appointed director-general of the Health Ministry, presented a number of relatively conservative steps to be taken to contain the latest uptick.

The cabinet decided that its first goal would be to provide maximum protection against the Delta variant with minimum interference in normal functioning. The cabinet also decided that the government must put systems in place to identify, track, and handle future viruses.

Strategic Affairs Minister Orit Farkash-Hacohen, discussing whether the government should take steps to eradicate the spread of the Delta variant, said, "People who didn't get vaccinated – that's their problem. They took the danger on themselves," indicating that the government did not at this stage intend to instate severe restrictions.

However, officials who took part in the meeting told Israel Hayom that if the Bennett government did not take steps to reduce the spread of the virus, the new outbreak would result in seriously cases and even deaths.

The cabinet did decide to encourage children age 12 and over to be vaccinated. Cabinet ministers who have children who are eligible to receive the COVID vaccinated are expected to serve as personal examples.

On Monday morning, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett put out a video in which he issues a personal call to Israeli youth over the age of 12 to be vaccinated.

"Right now, there are enough vaccines for everyone. But there's a catch: they will expire soon, and then there won't be enough vaccines for everyone. There is a narrow window of 11 days, and we're racing against the clock," Bennett said.

"The last date to get the first dose of the vaccine is July 9. Three weeks later, you'll get the second vaccine, and then the vaccines we have in stock will expire. So I'm calling on parent and all the young men and women to get vaccinated," Bennett said.

Another important policy point of the new government is Ben-Gurion International Airport. Ash and Maj. Gen. (res.) Roni Numa, who has been appointed point man to oversee enforcement, testing, and quarantine measures at the airport, have been tasked with coming up with a model to enforce quarantines. Anyone crossing international borders into Israel will also be subject to genetic sequencing.

In Sunday's weekly cabinet meeting, the government decided that Israelis who violate travel bans and visit blacklisted countries (Argentine, Brazil, South Africa, India, Mexico, and Russia) will be subject to 5,000-shekel ($1,534) fines.

Meanwhile, the Education Ministry, Health Ministry, and National Security Council have been instructed to plan for the launch of the 2021/22 school year in September, given various COVID scenarios that could be in play.

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Ash also recommended that the government expand testing of sewage, given the appearance of COVID in sewage in Ashkelon at the end of last week. Other suggestions floated included renewed contact tracing, sampling at the airport, and technologies to enforce quarantine. Testing for residents of retirement homes will resume.

As of Monday morning, there were 145 new confirmed COVID cases in Israel, 24 of which were identified after midnight Sunday. The number of active or symptomatic cases stood at 1,186, of whom 44 were hospitalized.

Of the hospitalized COVID patients, 22 were listed in serious condition, with 17 in critical condition and 16 on ventilators.

The total number of COVID fatalities since the pandemic reached Israel in early 2020 is 6,429.

Over 5.5 million Israelis have received at least the first dose of the COVID vaccine, and 5.16 million have received both doses.

The 40,123 COVID tests processed since Sunday resulted in a 0.4% positive rate.

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Late one night last week, while she was still in her office at the Infectious disease institute at Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer, the door of Professor Galia Rahav's office clicked open. A security guard walked in, looked around, and asked if she was all right. The doctor, who this past year had become the public face of COVID, looked at him, tiredly, and smiled.

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"If you're smiling, I'll try to stay calm," he told her. "We'll come by in an hour to make sure everything's OK."

For the past four months, Rahav has been the target of uncontrolled incitement on social media. Anti-vaxxers haven't let her alone since she suggested in February that Israel vaccinate children ages 12-15 for COVID. Although the vaccine isn't mandatory, opponents have wished her dead, called her "Mengele," and promised to carry out the Kabbalistic "Pulsa DiNura" ceremony – in which participants call on the angel of death to take the subject of their wrath – against her. A group that calls itself "The Citizens Committee to Investigate COVID" even reached out to the attorney general to ask that he open a criminal investigation against Rahav and the Health Ministry, claiming that Rahav had misled the public about the Pfizer vaccine when she said it was safe.

In an interview to Israel Hayom, Rahav said that until last week, she had taken no action against the campaign of incitement.

"When the anti-vaxxers published pictures of an angry redheaded clown and hinted it was me, I laughed. When they posted a picture of Chucky, the murdering doll, and said it was me, I ignored it. When they compared me to Hitler, it hurt me, quietly. I'm the daughter of Holocaust survivors.

"Even when they opened Facebook pages against me and called me a 'murderer of children,' 'Satan,' and a 'psychopath,' I didn't respond. Even though they published my address and called for demonstrations outside my home, I refused the hospital's offer of a security detail.

"In the last few days, the incitement has shifted gears. I saw messages that said I should be burned, that I should be hanged, that I should be buried next to Hitler … I also see how they are convincing people not to be vaccinated, and thereby putting lives in danger. There are some that spread fake news and write that schools are vaccinating children for COVID without notifying anyone. That's a complete lie.

"A week ago I decided, enough. I filed a police complaint about threats and incitement. At the same time, I, with the Israeli Medical Association, intend to file a civil suit against the people inciting against me. We need to stop slandering and curing doctors for doing their work. Maybe if these anti-vaxxers have to pay compensation, they'll think twice before calling me a murderer or claiming that I'm taking bribes from Pfizer," Rahav says.

On the day that Israel's HMOs announced that some 13,000 children and youth had signed up to be vaccinated for COVID, Rahav, 66, was in the Jerusalem Theater at a Health Ministry ceremony honoring doctors. When she returned to her home in Beit Hakerem, she sat down at the dining room table and starting looking over the new Health Ministry numbers about people vaccinate for COVID who contracted heart muscle inflammation, the main reason for concern about vaccinating children.

"In Israel, there were 148 cases, or one out of every 6,000 people vaccinated," Rahav says, leafing through a stack of papers.

"The vast majority were mild cases, other than eight. They were most common among people ages 20-29, 44 men and seven women in that age group. There were 33 cases in people ages 16-19, 32 men and one girl. One young woman, age 22, died of the disease. After age 30, the numbers are very low," she says. "I agree that this is a phenomenon that cannot be ignored, and I think that it is linked somehow to the vaccine."

Q: Do you see the number of children signed up to be vaccinated as low?

"I expected a much lower response."

Q: if you had a 12-year-old kid, would you have him vaccinated?

"There is no COVID in Israel right now, so my answer is negative. I suggest waiting a bit. Vaccinate them if you want to travel abroad, if they're obese, if they're in a high-risk group or if there is someone immunosuppressed in the home. We could easily wait a month or two, because the US is currently vaccinating hundreds of thousands of children these ages, and we should wait to see what happens there."

Q: The protest against you stems from the assumption that you recommend vaccinating children, and how you're saying the opposite.

"The meeting of the Vaccination Committee about vaccinating children took place in February, and even though we were already far along with vaccinating adults, the numbers still hadn't dropped, and there were still over 9,000 new cases per day. Anyone who knows the world of infectious disease knows that for the most part, you can't overcome an epidemic without vaccinating children. I suggested at the meeting that we talk to Pfizer and do a case study on children in Israel, and not depend only on US research.

"The meeting protocol was published on the Health Ministry website, and then someone wrote, 'Galia Rahav wants to experiment on children.' Now go explain that I always text new medicines, because my goal is first and foremost to save my patients. It was a short path from there to me being compared to Mengele."

Q: Were you wrong to say what you did in that meeting?

"No, and I won't take back what I said. It was right at the time. My recommendation changes as the reality on the ground does. I'm not afraid to say that I was certain that if we didn't vaccinate the children, we wouldn't overcome the virus, but we succeeded without it. It seems as if they are infecting others less.

"The virus numbers today are completely different to what they were then, so now there's really no reason to run after the vaccine in a panic. We don't know everything about the virus, but it appears that a kind of herd immunity has been created in Israel. On the other hand, we've learned that it's unpredictable. If all sorts of dangerous variants enter Israel tomorrow, I'll recommend vaccinating children."

The unrestrained attack on the veteran doctor, considered Israel's leading expert on infectious disease and epidemics, is difficult to comprehend. It started four months ago, with her being compared to Cruella de Ville, and only grew worse.

Social media users wrote things like "She is Hitler's future neighbor in Hell" and "Galia, we're praying for the day God takes you, may it be soon."

Q: Were you surprised by the hate?

"I only saw what people showed me, because I'm very busy and I don't spend the day on social media. I preferred to focus on the people who defended me against the attackers. My daughter, Roni, was frightened. In March, she and my partner filed a complaint with the police. I didn't have the energy or the time to handle it."

Rahav was sure that the attacks would diminish with time, but the opposite happened. The closer the country came to the date when children would start being vaccinated, the more they increased. The week before last, the social media outrage became acts.

"Last Tuesday I organized a conference in Ramat Gan about COVID vaccinations for children and in general, as part of my role as chair of the Israeli Society for Infectious Diseases (ISID). About 150 doctors who are experts in infectious disease came, and about 150 more doctors from other fields were watching on Zoom, like general practitioners and pediatricians.

"In the middle of the conference, anti-vaxxers burst into the room. I have no idea how they knew we were there. They shouted and waved signs saying that Pfizer was funding us, and if we were willing to have our children be guinea pigs. They weren't violent, but the conference was stopped until the security guards got them out.

"My daughter was anxious because they stormed the conference and were right next to me, even though none of them tried to physically harm me. That was the moment I realized I need to file a complaint with the police, because the incitement and protests wouldn't stop on their own."

Q: Are the latest threats keeping you awake?

"I barely sleep anyway, because of work," Rahav laughs. "But it makes me angry because these people are putting the public in danger. Unlike them, I save people."

Q: Why did you refuse security?

"I don't want to be followed. No one has stopped me while I'm driving or thrown rocks at my house. It's enough that the security guards check in on me every hour."

Q: Why do they accuse you of taking bribes from Pfizer?

"Oh, come on. I've never taken a penny from Pfizer. The whole story about Pfizer has to do with a study I did years ago about fungal infections in bone marrow recipients. The drugs they were given caused serious side effects, so we tried a new drug that saved their lives. Pfizer funded that expensive study, and then bought the drug from the developer.

"Throughout the COVID pandemic, I took part in conferences and countless meetings, all on a volunteer basis. I neglected my private infectious disease clinic in the Malha Mall, where I take care of AIDS patients, organ transplant recipients, people who suffer from fibromyalgia and pregnant women who contract viruses that attack fetuses."

Q: It looks as if the anti-vaxxers have beaten the Health Ministry. All the restrictions put on them at the start have been lifted.

"They won?!?" Rahav thunders. "We won! The pandemic restrictions weren't lifted because of them [the anti-vaxxers], but thanks to the people who got vaccinated. The anti-vaxxers are parasites. They endanger themselves and their families. There were plenty of COVID patients who infected their parents, who then died. These are people who will carry the guilt of that for the rest of their lives."

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Rahav did her IDF service as a teacher, and in 1974 registered for medical school at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where she was considered an outstanding student. She did a residency in internal medicine at Hadassah Ein Karem and Hadassah Mount Scopus hospitals. She then completed an additional residency in clinical microbiology, and began working on research. Along the way, she married her childhood sweetheart, and they had two children – Roni, 35, an OB-GYN resident at Meir Hospital in Kfar Saba, and Nir, a medical student at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Until 2003, Rahav worked as a doctor in the Infectious Disease Department at Hadassah, until she moved to Sheba when then-director of the medical center, Professor Zeev Rotstein, offered her the directorship of the Infectious Diseases Research Laboratory.

"He tempted me by promising to set me up with a research lab," Rahav smiles. "Today, I have an HIV lab and clinics to prevent infectious disease and for travelers' health. I've done over 250 clinical studies here, and recently we found a way to fight aggressive bacteria in hospitals. When we finish, we'll send the formula to drug companies so they can produce antibiotics."

Rahav is in the process of opening a new lab. "Here, we'll work on all sorts of dangerous pathogens, like the COVID virus," she says, turning proudly to the futuristic sterile space. "You can't work on viruses like these in a regular lab, because you need special air conditioning and filters."

Rahav also serves as chair of the ISID, and teaches at Tel Aviv University's medical school. In February 2020, when Israelis who had been on the Diamond Princess "COVID cruise" returned, she was a member of the team that set up the first COVID unit in Israel, at Sheba. She was appointed to write the protocol for treating COVID patients, deciding on ways to prevent infection, and choosing the protective gear for hospital workers.

While working at a feverish pace, she also became a regular guest in the media, where she adopted a cautious approach, backing a lockdown when the numbers began to rise. On Independence Day 2020 she was selected to light a torch at the annual ceremony on Mount Herzl.

Q: How did you become known as someone who sows fear among the public?

"I've thought about that a lot. At first, I thought it was because I'm a woman. Look, both Professor Gabi Barabash and Professor Ran Balicer were considered conservative [in their approach to COVID]. After that, I realized that it was coming from somewhere else that had to do with a mistake I made when I agreed to appear on TV with Professor Yoram Lass.

"The segment was filmed in the hospital, after a difficult day. A few hours earlier, I'd been sitting with a young man who had COVID, who had infected his father, who died. People were begging me, in tears, to save their relatives. I saw the death and the helplessness, and I was very emotional.

"And then they brought in Professor Lass, who was smug and hadn't treated any COVID patients, and he said that it was 'just a flu.' I felt stupid. I was angry at myself for agreeing to meet. I talked about the dangers, about the fact that there was no effective treatment, that people were dying, and he acted as if it was all nothing. Maybe it was a show on his part. Most doctors who appeared in the TV studios hadn't treated COVID patients."

Q: Do you believe that COVID is behind us?

"In Israel, it looks that way, but in countries like England, Taiwan, and Nepal, there is a spike with the Indian variant. We should keep our finger on the pulse of things."

Q: Do you support the decision to make masks non-mandatory in closed spaces?

"I supported removing the mask mandate outside, but with closed spaces, we've been a little hasty. The Health Ministry asked my opinion, and I told them that I would keep the [indoor mask mandate] in place a little longer, even though plenty of people are already taking them off."

Rahav says that personally, she always wears a mask in crowded places, and will continue to do so in the near future, pointing out that thanks to masks, "We've reduced flu and other respiratory diseases."

Q: Will we need to be revaccinated when winter comes?

"As long as there is no change in the number of cases, I don't think we'll need to. We still don't know how long the existing vaccine is effective. In serological tests at Sheba we've discovered something amazing. The antibodies drop, but they turn out to be much more effective. As if they learn from the disease.

"I think that we'll have to revaccinate only people who have some kind of immune problem. Right now I'm finishing a large study in which we did serological testing of patients who received heart, kidney, liver, and bone marrow transplants, as well as leukemia, myeloma, and AIDS patients. The results were amazing. For example, only 18% of heart transplant patients developed antibodies – the drugs they take to suppress organ rejection suppress the development of antibodies. On the other hand, AIDS patients responded to the vaccine the same way the rest of the population did. I think that only the immunosuppressed will get a third dose."

Q: If a third dose is needed this winter, does Israel have enough?

"There are enough vaccines, but I haven't looked into whether the amount will suffice to vaccine the entire country a third time."

Q: As someone who is part of the Israel Institute of Biological Research's project to develop another vaccine, do you think it should still be funded, giving the success of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines?

"I heard the criticism about continuing the project, and it's justified, to a certain point. The institute is just at the third stage of the trial, and it's hard to find volunteers because a lot of them left the study to get the Pfizer vaccine. On the other hand, the institute has done good work in developing a vaccine with no side effects. I assume that eventually, it will recoup the investment when the vaccines are sold in countries where the citizens haven't been vaccinated yet."

Next year, Rahav will be eligible to retire. "It's hard for me to even think about," she says. "I feel like I'm 40, and I still have so much to contribute. I'll leave the institute, but I'll stay on at Sheba as a travelers' doctor and will continue to run my private clinic.

"I'll probably fulfill a few dreams, like opening a clinic in the periphery that will bring people together through medicine. I'm also thinking of publishing a book I've been writing for the last few years about being the second generation of Holocaust survivor parents. I'll need some time off before I do that," she says. 

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Starting Sunday, Israelis will no longer be required to wear masks outdoors. Health Minister Yuli Edelstein instructed Health Ministry Director-General Professor Hezi Levy Thursday to sign an order cancelling the mandate.

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Edelstein made the decision after consulting with the ministry's health experts, who said that due to the current low morbidity rate, Israelis were no longer required to wear masks while outdoors.

"The purpose of the masks is to protect us from the coronavirus," Edelstein said. "After professionals have come to the conclusion that they are no longer needed in open spaces, I decided to remove the mandate based on their recommendations.

"The morbidity rate is low thanks to Israel's successful vaccination campaign, and so we can ease more restrictions for you, Israelis. I ask you to always have a mask with you when entering closed spaces. Together we will maintain the morbidity rate low," the health minister said.

At the same time, the school system is preparing to return to its regular activity. Assuming no changes occur, such as a lockdown, students will return to their classrooms on Sunday.

Pupils in the 1st to 4th grades, whose in-person school days were reduced to four times per week, will return to the classroom five days a week. The rest of the students, who studied on alternate days and had to sit in booths, will no longer be required to do so.

Additionally, parents will no longer need to fill out health forms for their children and schools, for any age group.

The return to normal poses a challenge for the country's system. According to Health Ministry data, as of last week, 872 students and 72 teachers were active coronavirus patients. Some 5,000 students and 500 teachers were in self-isolation.

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The COVID-19 reproduction rate (R) in Israel is growing, and as of Sunday morning stood at 0.99, meaning that one confirmed carrier infects 0.99 other people, the Health Ministry reported.

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A demographic analysis shows that the Haredi population has the lowest reproduction rate at 0.81, compared to 0.96 for the general population and 1.12 in the Arab sector, where the percentage of the population who have been vaccinated is lower than in the rest of the country.

The Health Ministry reported that 24,291 COVID tests processed Saturday identified 1,429 new cases, a positive rate of 6%.

As of Sunday morning, there were 40,108 active or symptomatic cases in Israel. A total of 1,278 COVID patients were hospitalized, of whom 776 were listed in serious condition, including 241 who were on ventilators. On Saturday, 21 more patients died, bringing Israel's COVID death toll to 5,738 since the pandemic hit Israel early in 2020.

The majority (70%) of cases in Israel are in people under the age of 40.

Meanwhile, 4,687,114 Israelis have received first doses of the COVID vaccine (50.4% of the population), and 3,320,355 (35.71%) have received both doses. Of people aged 50 and over, 87% have received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine.

A total of 993 medical workers were in quarantine on Sunday, including 66 doctors and 264 nurses.

On Saturday, Health Ministry Director-General Professor Hezi Levy spoke to Israel Hayom about the Purim celebrations that have taken place against public health orders since Thursday.

"It's very, very hard to watch things like these. Personally, they pain me. We're running around like crazy to vaccinate people, and seeing sights like these is infuriating," he said.

In the next few days, the Corona cabinet is scheduled to meet to discuss whether or not to allow more reopenings, which could take effect as early as Sunday, March 7. The Health Ministry is keeping close tabs on the data in order to put together a recommendation.

"We really want to open the middle schools and get the students back in school, and we intend to take the next step in an orderly, cautious manner," Levy said.

"The reproduction rate has already reached 0.97 [on Saturday], and if in a few days we see that Purim celebrations caused outbreaks, it will go up. That could put us farther away from the next step of reopenings and the chance of celebrating Passover like we all want to. No more than 50% of young people are vaccinated, and it's clear to us that the partiers include a large percentage of non-vaccinated people who apparently don't take care to wear masks. Anyone who looks at these parties can understand that it will be difficult for us to take the next step of reopenings, if new cases remains high," he warned.

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With Israel on track to see an average of 2,500 new COVID cases per day within 10 days, reinstating a policy of rigorous restriction was unavoidable, corona commissioner Professor Nachman Ash told Israel Hayom on Wednesday.

Ash said that even though a nationwide vaccination campaign would begin immediately, Israel needed to be on alert.

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"It might be hard for the public to accept the restrictions. Some would say it doesn't make sense to declare rigorous restrictions as we are beginning to vaccinate, but when you analyze [the situation] based on the facts – we need to address the here and now even as the vaccination campaign gets underway, and be prepared to see the effects of the vaccine in another three months," Ash said.

The Corona cabinet has approved restrictive policies that will include closures of workplaces that deal with the general public and businesses. For now, tourism in approved "green islands" will continue, as well as certain businesses that take in one client at a time, such as hairdressers. Public schools in communities coded green and yellow under the Health Ministry's stoplight plan will remain open.

Ash said that a policy of rigorous restriction was not expected to pose a problem when it came to administering the vaccinations, which would continue even if the country went into full lockdown.

"In March-April we'll be living a saner life thanks to the vaccinations. I assess that we can drop the masks only when about 60% of the population is vaccinated around May or June, when the weather will be warmer," the corona commissioner added.

Q: How have we gotten ourselves into this situation?

"Because of a number of things. Trips abroad, failure to adhere to quarantine, weddings and [other] events. In addition, hundreds of COVID positive people are arriving from abroad. It's hard to say how that affects the rate of spread, but it could be a major factor. If there was absolute discipline when it came to following [public health] instructions, we wouldn't be in this situation."

According to Ash, data shows that many Israelis returning from abroad ignore the mandatory quarantine orders – with 45% self-quarantining as ordered and 55% violating the policy.

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"We are now launching an operation to keep better tabs on people in isolation, with help from the Defense Ministry and a program that provides support to local authorities. We will be visiting people in isolation at home," Ash said.

Q: Why hasn't the Health Ministry set a goal for the rate of vaccinations it wants to see, either in the population at large or in target groups (such as the elderly or medical workers)?

"We want to get to a 60% vaccination rate among people who can be vaccinated. It isn't a defined goal, but assessments are that this number will provide good herd immunity. Various surveys of medical workers who that 50% said they wanted to be vaccinated, but I expect that will change with time."

Meanwhile, the "green passport" plan – a benefit to be provided to recovered COVID-19 patients and Israelis who have received the COVID-19 vaccination – is expected to become operational in January. In its first stage, the green passport will allow holders entry into tourism islands in Eilat and the Dead Sea, and allow travelers from abroad to skip the mandatory quarantine. The green passport will be included in a new application from the Health Ministry. At a later date, officials will decide whether or not the passport will allow holders entry into cultural or sports events. For now, it appears that Israelis who want to attend cultural events or a sports match but decline the vaccine might be able to be tested for COVID in the days preceding the event.

"The dilemma is over places like shopping malls," Ash explains. "Because keeping them closed keeps out groups like kids or teenagers who can't get vaccinated. There is also a problem prioritizing resources for such a purpose."

When asked if the green passports will allow Israelis to hold weddings and other similar events, Ash responds, "Theoretically, yes, but we still haven't discussed it. If I'm getting married and busy rapid testing kits and take care to allow in only people who test negative or who have been vaccinated. But there would be limitations on the number of participants."

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Israel saw its highest number of new COVID cases since Oct. 22 on Tuesday, the Health Ministry reported. Of the 52,000 people tested for coronavirus in a 24-hour period, 943 (1.8%) turned out to be positive.

As of Tuesday morning, the number of hospitalized patients was  down to 480. The number of severe cases has decreased as well. Some 275 patients were listed in serious condition on Monday, of whom 120 were on ventilators. Altogether 2,811 coronavirus patients have died in Israel since the outbreak of the epidemic in mid-March.

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After a heated discussion, the Coronavirus Cabinet decided early Tuesday morning to open schools in cities in the green and yellow zones, a decision supported by the Education Minister Yoav Gallant.

According to the outline, all high school students in cities with low coronavirus infection rates will return to the classroom this coming Sunday. Middle schools will follow suit a week later. The cabinet also decided to significantly increase the number of COVID-19 tests available for the staff and the students.

Meanwhile, the Coronavirus cabinet adopted the proposal for a trial and partial opening of the malls. The trial results will determine the opening dates of the malls. A similar proposal will be submitted for the markets as well, to open the markets at the same time as the malls.

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The 35,148 coronavirus tests processed in the last 24 hours resulted in 710 new confirmed cases, a positive rate of 2.1%, the Health Ministry reported Tuesday.

There were 8,082 active or symptomatic patients nationwide.

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A total of 560 patients were hospitalized as of Tuesday morning, including 322 who were listed in serious condition, of whom 134 were on ventilators. Another 88 hospitalized patients were listed in moderate condition.

Since the coronavirus epidemic reached Israel last winter, a total of 320,184 people have been infected by the virus, and 309,424 have recovered. The death toll stands at 2,687.

Meanwhile, the chief of the World Health Organization on Monday urged everyone to keep up efforts to fight COVID-19, saying that while people might be tired of fighting the pandemic, the virus "is not tired of us."

Speaking to WHO's main annual assembly, which resumed Monday after being cut short in May, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also hailed the victory of Joe Biden, voicing hope it could signal tighter global cooperation to end the pandemic.

Ghebreyesus said it was vital for people to follow science and resist the urge to turn a blind eye to the virus.

"We might be tired of COVID-19. But it is not tired of us," he said.

Tedros, speaking from quarantine after coming in contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19, warned that the virus preyed on weakness.

"It preys on those in weaker health, but it preys on other weaknesses too: inequality, division, denial, wishful thinking and willful ignorance," he said.

"We cannot negotiate with it, nor close our eyes and hope it goes away. It pays no heed to political rhetoric or conspiracy theories," he said.

"Our only hope is science, solutions and solidarity."

Tedros warned that the pandemic had laid bare the need for the world to recapture a "sense of common purpose," which in recent years has been eroded by the "creeping tides of misguided nationalism and isolationism."

Part of this article was first published by i24NEWS.

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