A government meeting to discuss a possible reopening of the education system ended without a decision on the matter on Sunday, as Health Ministry and National Security Council officials in attendance warned the move could lead to a surge in coronavirus infections and hospitalizations.

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According to Health Ministry data, 4,560 of the 53,656 people tested for COVID-19 on  Sunday were found to be carrying the virus, for an infection rate of 8.8%.

As of Monday morning, Israel had 67,631 active cases of the coronavirus. At 1,121 cases, the number of seriously ill has declined and is now the lowest it has been since Jan. 9. Of those currently in serious condition, 316 were on ventilators. A total of 5,129 people have died of COVID-19 or complications there from since the pandemic reached Israel in early 2020.

Addressing the government meeting, physicist Eli Waxman of the National Security Council warned lifting restrictions imposed under Israel's third lockdown would lead to a "collapse of the ICUs. A large portion of patients in serious condition will not receive proper treatment, so more people may die," Channel 12 News reported.

"We are in a state of zero confidence margins. We are at the edge of the hospitalization system's capacity. We could have 10,000 deaths and 30,000 patients in serious condition. Opening [the education system] today is an irresponsible step that will take us beyond the margins," he warned.

While Immigration and Integration Minister Pnina Tamano-Shata stressed the urgency to reopen the struggling economy, other ministers called for caution as Health Ministry officials warned the younger population could develop serious illness, overwhelming hospital wards.

Part of this article was first published by i24NEWS.

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The outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and the restrictions on movement aimed at curbing its spread have had an impact on the number of Israeli employees and their average salary.

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The number of employment positions stood at 3.252 million in November, a 13% decrease compared the 3.74 million who were employed in the same month in 2019.

According to a Central Bureau of Statistics report, the hospitality and food services sector saw a 63.4% decrease in the number of employee positions. The arts, entertainment, and recreation sector, recorded a 53.3% decrease, compared to the 17.9% recorded in the commerce sector.

In November, the average employee salary stood at 11,525 shekels ($3,510), an increase of 9.9% over the previous November, when the average salary was 10,483 shekels ($3,193).

The CBS compiled its report on average wages and employment based on the number of workers employed in that month and the total wages they were paid.

Average wages increased 15.2% in April 2020 compared to March, following the first lockdown. Following the end of the second lockdown in October, average wages increased 2.1% over the previous month. Part of the reason for this increase is that the earnings of employees who had their jobs terminated tend to be lower than the national average.

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The economy might be seeing a light at the end of the tunnel as early as next week if a pilot testing program being launched by the health and defense ministries to conduct rapid COVID testing for public buildings proves a success.

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The "green building" pilot will take place in the Negev Center in Beersheba, which houses The Authority for Development and Settlement of the Bedouin in the Negev, the Israel Lands Authority, and the city's Sharia court. All three are deemed essential institutions and continue to operate during lockdown.

Under the pilot, all employees and visitors to these premises will be required to be tested upon arrival and receive results on their smartphone devices in just 10 minutes.

Employees and cleaning personnel will be tested every two days and will be required to follow all Health Ministry guidelines, including social distancing and limits to the number of people per room.

The pilot, a joint project by the Health Ministry, the IDF technological greenhouse, and Tel Aviv's Sourasky Medical Center, which developed the rapid tests, is designed to experiment with a program that could potentially be expanded nationwide to allow businesses and other venues to reopen, putting the economy back on track.

In a related development, the Health Ministry is set to present next week an exit program from the current lockdown in an outline named "green badge." On Thursday, officials held several meetings with representatives from the leisure and culture sector in which several ideas were raised, including the possibility of opening cultural venues to people who can present proof of a negative COVID test taken within 48 hours.

Meanwhile, teenagers aged 16-18 will be able to get vaccinated starting next week, after Health Ministry Director-General Professor Hezi Levi received approval from the Vaccine Priorities Board on Thursday evening to go ahead with the campaign.

These teens are high school students in 11th and 12th grades who are slated to take matriculation exams this year, then be drafted into the IDF.  The health and education ministries as well as healthcare providers have begun logistic preparations to vaccinate the high schoolers.

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The Israel Police will begin enforcing the nation's third lockdown more stringently beginning Friday, Deputy Commissioner Menashe Yishai Shalem said Thursday.

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"Over the course of this week, we handed out 30% more fines and stepped up activity against individuals [who violate lockdown regulations]. We set up checkpoints and took action to disperse gatherings. There were two unusual events that were handled harshly," Shalem said.

"This weekend, we will go back to the same framework and expand enforcement. We will reinstate a complete system of checkpoints, wherein starting at midnight there will be 12 checkpoints on intercity highways, and dozens more within communities based on decisions made for each community at the district police level.

"Starting tomorrow [Friday] at 6 a.m., there will be 25 checkpoints set up on intercity highways until 11 p.m., in addition to dozens more inside cities and towns,"  he said.

The police urged the public to get as much shopping done on Thursday as possible, warning that police were constantly monitoring traffic from the air.

"This weekend, the air monitoring will be used mostly to track violations at nature sites and parks. On Saturday evening, we will assess the situation, and make decisions about next week," Shalem said.

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday, as a shipment of 700,000 Pfizer COVID vaccines arrived at Ben-Gurion International Airport, that the Pfizer vaccines would continue to arrive, with a "huge" shipment expected.

Netanyahu said that he and Health Minister Yuli Edelstein had agreed that starting Sunday, Israel would step up its vaccination campaign to jab 170,000 people per day.

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"In the next few days I intend to take on the economy just like I took on the vaccines," Netanyahu said. "We'll provide more aid, more help, and more grants designed to get Israel out of the economic COVID crisis. We'll do it together, with enormous success. We will be the first country to make it out of the COVID and economic COVID crises, and get our lives back on track," he added.

Earlier Sunday, national coronavirus coordinator Professor Nachman Ash said in a press briefing that there were signs that the third lockdown was having an effect.

"This is the third day of the [third] lockdown," Ash said. "We're racing – the spread of the virus vs. the vaccine. Our goal is to vaccinate as many people as possible. This past weekend we saw an increase in new cases – 5,000 confirmed on Shabbat, which is higher than the previous weekends."

However, Ash said, there were grounds for optimism: "The graph [of new cases] isn't rising exponentially, but appears to be starting to flatten. However, the number of patients in serious condition is higher than it was during the second wave."

"The lockdown was set for two weeks and will end next week between Thursday and Friday. Right now, we're thinking about what our goals will be for coming out of the lockdown. The parameters for exiting the lockdown will include the numbers of new confirmed cases, patients in serious condition, and the number of patients infected by each confirmed carrier. Based on these, we will decide if we can accommodate a rise in cases," Ash explained.

When asked if the third lockdown had been successful, Ash responded that it was too early to tell.

"We are seeing different pictures and hearing different thing. Some people sat in traffic jams and others traveled on empty highways. We are operating according to traffic date, but it arrives a day or two behind. Tomorrow [Monday], we will get the information and know. My sense is that the people are with us in this lockdown, and following instructions. I hope the numbers will bear that out," he said.

In the meantime, Ash told the press that Israel's vaccination campaign would open to new sectors in the next few weeks.

"Our strategy is to vaccinate at-risk populations, and thereby reduce morbidity and mortality and reopen the economy, even if the number of confirmed cases doesn't drop. At the moment, we have decided to give teachers in special education priority, and then the rest of the teachers. Later on we'll add the age groups 55-60 or 50-60. This will be decided based on the number of doses available," Ash said.

Ash noted that Israel had the capability of administering 150,000 vaccinations per day, and wanted to see 200,000 vaccinations per day.

As far as vaccinating housebound Israelis, Ash said that health officials were examining the Moderna vaccine, which requires less stringent storage procedures than the Pfizer vaccine, and evaluating the feasibility of bringing it to people's homes.

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Some 122,000 COVID tests conducted nationwide in a 24-hour period returned 7,597 positive results, a positive rate of 6.2%, the Health Ministry reported Friday.

As of Friday morning, there were 64,814 active or symptomatic patients, of whom 1,482 were hospitalized. A total of 901 of the hospitalized patients were list serious condition, and 220 were on ventilators. 

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The cumulative death toll from the virus stood at 3,545 since the pandemic reached Israel in the winter of 2020. 

Starting at midnight Thursday, Israel entered a tight two-week lockdown in an attempt to stem the spread of the virus, particularly the highly contagious variants. 

Public schools were closed and back to distance learning. Restaurants were allowed to sell food only for delivery, without takeout service. 

The Health Ministry announced Thursday that COVID-19 tests would no longer be conducted without a doctor's referral. 

Coronavirus testing sites have been overwhelmed by increasing test demands in recent weeks. This past week, 644,664 tests were processed. 

Israelis will be able to obtain a referral if they exhibit coronavirus symptoms, have come into contact with a COVID patient, or have returned from abroad. 

Recovered COVID patients will not need to be tested if they come into contact with a confirmed carrier, unless they exhibit symptoms. The ministry said that anyone with a fever, cough, difficulty breathing, sore throat, loss of sense of taste or smell, muscle weakness, or any other suspicious symptom, would be eligible for a test.

COVID tests at the Dead Sea and Eilat are canceled as the sites are closed due to the strict lockdown. 

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As restrictions tightening a lockdown imposed on Dec. 27 went into effect Thursday at midnight, the Israel Police released a list detailing just how much the public should expect to pay if they are caught in violation of the rules.

According to the Israel Police, anyone caught violating a mandatory quarantine will be fined 5,000 shekels ($1,570). Failure to report an obligation to enter quarantine will set the offender back 3,000 shekels ($940). Refusing a police officer's order to disperse will result in a 1,000 shekel ($315) fine. 

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Being in a public place or business that is forbidden from opening or praying in violation of the guidelines will incur a 500-shekel ($160) fine, as will failing to wear a mask outside of an individual's place of residence.  

According to Assistant Commissioner Yishai Shalem, who heads the Israel Police's operations department, this time around, "We will use a much heavier hand, and we will enforce [the restrictions] even more forcefully."

Shalem said that "On intercity traffic arteries, checkpoints will be placed in the right places, where we will have an influence and not cause traffic jams. During the day, there will be fewer checkpoints in the center than in the north and south. Between 7 p.m. and 11 p.m., there will be many more checkpoints." 

"Within the cities, patrols will be carried out on foot and barricades will be set up at entrances and exits, and in exceptional cases, we will enforce them," he said. 

While Shalem indicated police would not "be petty" and fine people for straying 100 meters (around 100 yards) further from their home than permitted, he did say that those caught going much farther than the 1,000-meter limit would be fined.

According to Shalem, around 5,000 officers, including riot police, would be deployed to enforce the tightened lockdown.

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The Bank of Israel expects the economy to rebound quickly in 2021 if the country's fast start to vaccinating people against COVID-19 is maintained, the central bank said on Monday after keeping rates unchanged.

The bank left its benchmark interest rate at 0.1% for a sixth straight meeting, in line with analysts' forecasts in a Reuters poll.

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Israel has begun to vaccinate its population at one of the quickest rates in the world, and it aims to reach all vulnerable citizens by late January.

The central bank forecast that if the rapid rate of inoculation was maintained, the economy would grow 6.3% in 2021 and 5.8% in 2022.

Growth this year would only reach 3.5%, however, if the vaccination rate slowed, the bank's economists said in their latest forecasts. The bank said it thought rapid inoculation was most likely.

"However, the risks to economic activity remain high, and the adverse impact on the economy, and particularly on the labor market, is expected to be prolonged," the bank said in its statement.

"The (monetary) committee will expand the use of the existing tools, including the interest rate tool, and will operate additional ones, to the extent that it assesses that it is necessary in order to achieve the monetary policy goals and to moderate the adverse economic impact resulting from the crisis."

Instead of lowering interest rates, the bank has taken other measures, such as buying government and corporate bonds and providing cheap loans to small businesses.

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In 2020, the economy contracted 3.7% despite two lockdowns, double-digit unemployment and a 12 1/2-year peak in the shekel versus the dollar.

Bank of Israel Governor Amir Yaron reiterated his belief that much of the shekel's strength lies with global dollar weakness. But he noted that exports have held up well, with the central bank buying a record $20 billion of foreign exchange to prevent an even more rapid appreciation.

"It is difficult to assess the point at which the exchange rate is liable to be too strong for part of the export industries and import substitutes, and this is not a risk we would want to take during a crisis," he told a news conference. The high level of foreign currency -- $167 billion in November – would not deter future intervention, he said.

Yaron said that the bank's accommodative policies would continue despite an expected rapid economic recovery, given very low inflation and as "credit in the economy continues to flow without an increase in interest rates, despite the marked increase in risk for some borrowers."

Still, he said political instability – Israel is headed to its fourth election in two years – is problematic, especially since the lack of a state budget makes it tougher for the government to "take steps to prepare the economy for the post-crisis period."

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Israel's third nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus will cost the economy a minimum of 5 billion shekels ($1.55 billion), the Bank of Israel estimates.

The lockdown is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. Sunday and last at least two weeks. The Bank of Israel assesses that each week the economy is shut down will come at a cost of 2.5 billion shekels ($775 million).

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However, this is projected to be a less expensive lockdown than the two previous ones, according to the central bank. The first lockdown, which began in March, cost the economy 5.4 billion shekels ($1.67 billion) per week, and the second lockdown around the time of the High Holidays cost 3.2 billion shekels ($993 million) per week.

The Bank of Israel projects that the lockdown that starts on Sunday will affect the economy by 10%, compared to the 20% hit it took in March-April and the 12% hit in the second lockdown. The bank reported that during the summer, when businesses were operating under COVID restrictions, the economy was running at 95% capacity, which caused a loss of 1.3 billion shekels ($403 million) each week.

Officials with the Bank of Israel explained that at this stage, the restrictions for the third lockdown were less severe than the previous ones.

"Businesses that do not deal with the public will continue to operate on a partial basis, and the school system for younger grades will operate as usual," officials said.

"It's likely that businesses continued to prepare to operate under pandemic conditions. The October lockdown came during the holidays, when business activity drops anyway. But now the lockdown will take place during normal business days," the officials added.

Over the long term, the Bank of Israel officials said, the lockdowns will continue to affect the Israeli economy. Officials pointed out that the direct losses of the lockdown itself did not include bankruptcies and ongoing payment of unemployment benefits, and did not take into account losses that could not be assessed financially, such as restricted freedom of movement or loss of time with family.

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If the government fails to take additional steps to prevent the spread of coronavirus, Israel will see more than 10,000 new COVID cases a day by mid-January, a new report from the IDF's Military Intelligence Directorate published Tuesday reveals.

The report states that the average number of new cases per week is rising at an "alarming" rate, with the percentage of positive test results also rising consistently. Nationwide, an average of 4% of tests come back positive.

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According to the report, the past three weeks have also seen a notable rise in the number of hospitalized COVID patients listed in serious condition.

The Military Intelligence report was published as Israel identified 3,730 new COVID carriers in a record 91,972 tests.

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