Senior Official: Israel Entering 3rd COVID-19 Wave

Jerusalem, 2 December, 2020 (TPS) -- Israel is entering its third wave of Coronavirus (COVID-19), Dr. Sharon Elroi-Price, the head of the public health services at the Ministry of Health warned, as the number of new daily cases is rising.

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday on the increase in the coronavirus cases in Israel, Elroi-Price noted that “we do not yet know the effects of the opening of the economy. A further increase in infection is expected.”

Israel entered a second full lockdown in September and has been gradually relaxing the restrictions in recent weeks, but has yet to fully open the economy.

Elroi-Price further pointed out that 90 localities are in a worsening trend.

“This is the beginning of the third wave,” she stated.

Most of the infections are coming from travelers who have returned from visits in countries with high infection rates, and especially Turkey, a favored destination by Arab-Israelis. Many of those returning from these countries do not maintain the mandatory quarantine and cause the virus to spread, she said.

As for the upcoming holiday of Chanukah and the New Year events, no curfew has yet been decided on, it’s still under discussion, she said.

She further noted a change in the trend in morbidity, where 50% of the morbidity is in the general sector, 41% in the Arab sector, and 9% in the ultra-Orthodox sector.

The Arabs consist of some 20% of the population.

The Ministry of Health updated Wednesday that it recorded 1,182 new cases in the past 24 hours.

Of the 63,993 tests done over the weekend, 1.9% returned positive.

According to the data, 266 corona patients are hospitalized in serious condition, of them 94 are on life support.