The number of new infections reported in Israel within one day has exceeded the 1,000 mark for the first time in four months. The Health Ministry said yesterday that 1,118 new cases had been reported within 24 hours. This is the highest number since mid-March. However, during the peak of the pandemic in January, the number of daily cases in Israel had risen to more than 10,000.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett had said during a consultation Friday that the Delta variant was leading to a global increase in CoV cases, “including in vaccinated countries such as the UK, the US and Israel.”
Bennett: Vaccine protection lower than hoped for
At present, he said, the prevailing view is “that the effectiveness of existing vaccines against the delta variant is weaker than we had hoped.” It is becoming clear that the problem cannot be solved by vaccination alone. The delta variant was first discovered in India and is considered particularly contagious.
In view of the new rise in infections, Israel plans to reintroduce restrictions on gatherings of more than 100 people in enclosed spaces from Wednesday. Once again, only vaccinated, recovered or people with negative test results will be allowed to attend such events. In addition, masks will again be mandatory in enclosed spaces.
56 percent fully vaccinated
Around 62 percent of the country’s 9.3 million inhabitants have already received their first vaccination, and more than 56 percent have also received the second dose. The number of people seriously ill has risen from 19 to 58 within a month. More than half of them have received at least one dose of vaccination against the coronavirus, according to the Ministry of Health. In January, the number of seriously ill patients had been around 1,200.
- source: ORF.at/agencies/picture: pixabay.com
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