The coronavirus infection rate remained low over the weekend (0.72%) with 220 Israelis testing positive for the virus of the 34,339 screened altogether, according to Health Ministry data. The reproduction rate stands at 0.88.

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There are 5,843 active cases in the country with 205 patients hospitalized. Of those, 156 are in serious condition.

Thus far, 4,016,195 Israelis have been fully vaccinated, 5,752,941 received two jabs and 6,256,219 got inoculated with one dose.

Israel has reported 1,337,041 cases, including 8,140 deaths, since the outbreak of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, Coronavirus Commissioner Salman Zarka said the national children's vaccination campaign would begin next week and that Israel was awaiting a shipment of Pfizer's special kids' doses – which are just a third of the amount given to teens and adults.

Last week, a ministry advisory committee had endorsed Pfizer's inoculations for ages 5-11, which according to Zarka, Director-General Nachman Ash is expected to approve on Sunday.

Ash had previously assured parents of the doses' safety and stressed that "anyone who gets vaccinated reduces the chance of a fifth [morbidity] wave erupting. It is not right to wait for an increase in infection, we do not know when this will happen and vaccines need time to work. Even now, 200 children get infected every day, and we want to prevent that."

The kids' doses have already been authorized by the US Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

With regard to possible future infection waves, Zarka said the ministry was keeping a close watch on other strains across the world.

"It would be difficult to prevent a variant from invading Israel, but we very much want to identify it early and therefore we are keeping our fingers on the pulse," he said.

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Coronavirus Commissioner Professor Nachman Ash warned Wednesday that the relentless COVID infection rate may drive the Health Ministry to advise the government to impose another lockdown before the March 23 election. 

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In an interview with local radio station 103FM, Ash said that the decision will depend on the morbidity rate and warned that the lockdown might be extended until after the election. 

Should a nationwide lockdown be imposed, it would be the fourth time the Israeli economy will shutter in the span of one year.

Ash attributed the persistent COVID reproduction rate to the British variant of the coronavirus, which significantly increases the risk of serious illness and hospitalization. 

The Health Ministry reported Wednesday that of the 91,122 Israelis screened from the virus on Tuesday, 4,265 tested positive, placing the infection rate at 4.8%. 

Israel has reported 787,211 cases and 5,797 deaths since the outbreak of the pandemic last year. To date, 738,681 Israelis have recovered from the disease. As of Wednesdy, some 1,195 COVID patients were hospitalized, 717 of them are in serious condition and 224 are on ventilators. 

So far, 4,811,712 Israelis have received the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, and 3,503,621 have been fully immunized.

Several other mutations have made their way to Israel, as well. Most recently, the Health Ministry detected three cases of the COVID strain found in New York. 

All three infections were diagnosed in members of one family, the ministry clarified.

"We will see more and more virus mutations, that is the nature of a virus," Health Ministry Director-General Prof. Hezi Levi, adding that the ministry was doing its utmost to detect variants early on.

Addressing the upcoming elections, Levi said, "We are walking a thin line between the need to get Israelis to the polling stations and the need to curb the mutations, but that is the current reality."

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Addressing the growing infection rate in the Arab sector, Ayman Saif, the head of the Health Ministry's coronavirus response in the community, said that 70% of the at-risk Arab population had been vaccinated. 

"Two weeks ago, the British variant had not reached the Arab sector yet, but now it is significant," he said. "We will focus on the Bedouin population, young people, and the residents of East General. We will use Ramadan as a decisive factor." 

i24NEWS contributed to this report.

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Health maintenance organizations will be authorized to start vaccinating patients who have recovered from the coronavirus, the Health Ministry announced Monday.

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In its press release, the ministry said the decision would come into effect starting Tuesday. Israelis aged 16 and up will be able to receive their jabs three months after recovering. However, contrary to standard procedure, they will only receive one shot of the vaccine.

The ministry added that it had nevertheless instructed the health providers to focus the inoculation efforts on those aged 50 and more – a group where only 13% are yet to be vaccinated, as per the latest data. Also of priority are Israelis across all age groups who have not received a single vaccine shot yet.

On Tuesday, the ministry reported that of the 90,751 tests it conducted the day before, 4,624 came back positive.
There are currently 39,190 active coronavirus patients in the country. Some 1,198 Israelis are hospitalized, of whom 729 are in serious condition.

Israel has reported 781,857 cases and 5,779 deaths since the outbreak of the pandemic in March last year. To date, 736,888 Israelis have recovered from the disease.

Data further shows that as of Tuesday, 4,772,078 Israelis have received the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, and 3,439,919 have been fully immunized.

Meanwhile, despite observing an increase in the infection rate in recent days, the government decided to go ahead with the next stage of the lockdown exit plan.

Beginning on Sunday, students in grades seven to 10 who live in "green" and "yellow" cities will return to studies at school. Small cafes and restaurants will be allowed to reopen without requiring visitors to present a vaccination or recovery certificate.

Those who possess a green passport will be able to attend large restaurants and hotels with prior reservations.
With the exception of "red" cities, Israelis will be able to gather up to 20 people indoors and 50 outdoors.

Health officials butted heads over easing the lockdown restrictions. Coronavirus chief Professor Nachman Ash proposed pausing the exit due to the rise in infection rate and the mass gatherings that took place on Purim, whereas Health Minister Yuli Edelstein insisted on continuing with the plan as scheduled.

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The ministry also expressed concern over the increase in infection rate and the forthcoming wedding season and Ramadan holiday in the Arab sector. In 2020, weddings and family meals were the leading cause of a severe COVID outbreak among this population.

In addition, the vaccination rate among Arabs is much lower relative to their number in the general public. Despite launching the vaccination campaign in Arabic, especially targeting the elderly Arab population, HMOs have had little success in getting them to the vaccination sites.

i24NEWS contributed to this report.

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The Health Ministry brings glad tidings again: Of the 81,828 tests it administered on Thursday, 7,099 came back positive, marking it as yet another day with a decrease in the number of new cases. The infection rate stands at 8.9%.

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As of Friday morning, there were 82,002 active or symptomatic coronavirus cases in the country. A total of 1,847 Israelis are hospitalized; 328 of them are on ventilators.

Israel has reported 585,746 COVID cases and 4,263 deaths since the outbreak of the pandemic in mid-March.

In the meantime, the vaccination campaign continues at full speed. Health Minister Yuli Edelstein announced Friday morning that "We broke the record for the most people vaccinated within one day – 224,000 Israelis were vaccinated yesterday [Thursday.]"

So far, 2,441,379 Israelis have been inoculated, which constitutes 27.47% of the population. Some 850,811 people have received the second dose of the vaccine as well, i.e., 9.57% of the population.

Coronavirus chief Professor Nachman Ash told Channel12 that since the morbidity rate seems to be showing signs of a decrease, they will not be requesting the government to extend the lockdown beyond the 10 days that the Knesset had already approved.

He explained that although the number of new daily cases and critical patients was still high, recent data does indicate that the infection rate was finally coming down.

"The data is encouraging; for several days we've observed a curb in the morbidity, even a decrease. We hope that the trend will continue and that there will be no need to extend the lockdown," Ash said.

As for the high number of patients in serious and critical condition, Ash said that the crowding was overwhelming the healthcare system and that the number of these patients had to be brought down. "That is why we asked to extend the lockdown by ten days," he explained.

The chief also stressed the importance of inoculating Israelis over the age of 60 and explained that despite lowering the eligibility age to 40, they continue to work together with health maintenance organizations to reach out to those over 60 and make sure they get inoculated.

He added that he wasn't sure that opening cultural venus in two weeks was plausible, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Thursday.

"I am happy that we are on our way to opening cultural events. We will do so in a responsible and controlled manner," Netanyahu said.

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Coronavirus testing nationwide identified 9,025 new cases on Tuesday, the Health Ministry reported. This was the second day in a row in which over 9,000 new cases were reported in a 24-hour period. The percentage of positive test results on Tuesday was 7.2%.

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As of Wednesday morning, 1,760 COVID patients were hospitalized, including 1,042 in critical condition and 262 on ventilators. The death toll since the start of the epidemic in Israel stands at 3,770.

The increased morbidity rate might lead to a longer nationwide lockdown than was initially planned.

"I very much hope that we can exit the lockdown next Thursday," Coronavirus chief Professor Nachman Ash said in a radio interview on Tuesday. "But there is a possibility that the number of infections will not decrease. If so, we will recommend that the government extend the lockdown, but I hope it won't come to that."

The Health Ministry announced Tuesday that Israelis over the age of 50 were now eligible for vaccinations, and urged Israelis to contact their healthcare providers to schedule appointments.

Meanwhile, Channel 12 News reported that according to preliminary data from the vaccination campaign, Pfizer's vaccine decreases the chance of infection by half starting 14 days after the first dose.

The second dose offers up to 95% protection one week after it is administered, the data indicates.

Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis, head of the Public Health Service in the Health Ministry, told Channel 12 News that 19 patients were currently in critical condition after having contracted COVID-19 despite having had the first dose of hte vaccine. Alroy-Preis urged the public to continue to be cautious and protect themselves even after receiving the shot.

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Even though governments' reactions to the coronavirus pandemic have largely been similar throughout the Western world, some argue that the response has been disproportionate to the level of threat posed.

Three Israeli scientists from Tel Aviv University, Profs Udi Kimron, Ariel Munitz, and Motti Gerlic, have formed the Common Sense Model, which advocates a shift of focus to the protection and care of at-risk groups, rather than imposing collective restrictions that aim to curb infections in society.

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Last week, when the government was deliberating on the possibility of a third lockdown, more than 100 Israeli physicians signed a letter excoriating the government's policies employed to combat the coronavirus.

"We strongly object to the coercive measures against the spread of the coronavirus," the letter stated.

"The coercive measures now deliberated constitute a destructive infringement of fundamental civil rights, and their enforcement lacks medical justification with a black flag raised above them."

A week later, Israel entered its third national lockdown, which was initially poised to last two weeks but could extend beyond that time frame, the head of Israel's coronavirus taskforce Professor Nachman Ash said.

"The people who made the calls were wrong from the beginning and it is very hard for them to accept it," Dr. Tomer Cooks, a faculty member at the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Genetics at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev said. "To them, it doesn't matter that data from all over the world showed that there is no positive correlation between masks or lockdowns and success.

"I have objected to the lockdown idea since February. There is no logic in applying such brute force on the entire society.

"At least in March it was forgiven; panic was everywhere and many felt it would save us. But after so much time has passed, how can we still support this madness?"

Meanwhile, Israel continues its vaccination drive that started on Dec. 19, with the jab administered to almost a million citizens. Health-care providers give roughly 150,000 shots a day. The government's top priority are Israelis over the age of 60, at-risk patients, and healthcare workers.

According to Health Minister Yuli Edelstein, starting January 10 and running through the end of the month, the vaccination centers will only serve those who have already received the first out of the two necessarry doses, so that they can follow up with scheduled booster shots.

Director General of the Health Ministry Hezi Levi said during a press conference Thursday that the vaccination of the younger population will begin in February, pointing out that Israel is the world leader in the number of vaccines administered per 100 people and that Health Ministry's goal is to innoculate 5 million Israelis by March 2021.

Several citizens outside the vulnerable cohorts have already managed to get vaccinated, often as clinic "walk-ins" who secured surplus injections that would otherwise have had to be thrown away at the end of the day.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is facing another election in March, said on Sunday that the vaccination program could allow the country to emerge from the pandemic as early as February.

Israel is vaccinating Palestinians in east Jerusalem. In Judea and Samaria and the Gaza Strip, the first shipments of vaccines are expected in two weeks, Palestinian officials said, without providing details on their number or manufacturer.

As of midweek, 652 Israelis who received a Pfizer vaccination reported mild side effects, including pain, tiredness, dizziness, limited range of motion, and neurological symptoms like blurred vision.

Nineteen Israelis reported numbness or tingling of the tongue, a phenomenon that worried the Epidemic Management Team the most, as it was not reported as one of the side effects of the Pfizer study. The Team contacted Pfizer who replied that other countries also reported this side effect, but no special treatment is needed for it, and patients can go ahead and receive the second dose of the vaccine.

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Meanwhile, the Health Ministry reported Friday that of the 101,000 tests conducted the day before, 5,804 came back positive, raising the positivity rate to 5.7%.

There are currently 45,373 active cases in the country. Some 1,102 patients are being hospitalzied, of those, 678 are in critical condition and 178 are on ventilaltors.

Israel has reported 426,749 coronavirus cases since the outbreak of the pandemic in March. The current death toll stands at 3,338.

This article was first published by i24NEWS

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