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Israeli authorities are preparing for austerity measures due to a significant escalation of the coronavirus epidemic, local media reported Thursday.
For the second day in a row, the number of new infections per day has exceeded 2,500 and is expected to reach a weekly average of 2,500 in the coming days, with the prior decision to impose strict restrictions.
On Wednesday, 2,891 of the 83,760 tests tested positive, a rate of 3.5 percent. There has been a significant increase of 2,405 new cases found outside severely infected “red” settlements, indicating the spread of the epidemic in all population groups and locations.
Previously announced austerity measures include the closure of retail establishments, markets and stores in particularly infected settlements, only stores selling essential items will remain open, and schools will switch to distance education from fourth grade onwards and reduce to half public transport. .
The health ministry is expected to quarantine everyone who comes from abroad, and not just those who come from the most infected states, after many have been infected in “green” countries.
In a press release Tuesday night on Trade TV 12, one of the heads of the Health Ministry admitted that it was not just health considerations that determined each country’s ranking. Concessions have been made in recently friendly Gulf countries, leading to the registration of many infected people, for example, who brought the virus from Dubai.
The Health Ministry has outlined the schedule for the vaccination campaign, which is expected to be launched next week. They are first vaccinated by hospitals and then by medical personnel in clinics, private clinics and dental clinics. It is followed by employees of geriatric and psychiatric hospitals, nurses and medical students who work in hospitals, and members of the ambulance service.
In the second round, those who work and reside in nursing homes will be vaccinated, as well as those over 60 years of age and then those with underlying diseases: diabetic, obese, pulmonary, hypertensive, immunosuppressive and transplanted.
Depending on the arrival of the vaccine, it is expected that the vaccination of the others can begin from January. To increase public confidence in vaccination, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Health Minister Juli Edelstein will be publicly vaccinated on Saturday night, and President Reuven Rivlin will be publicly vaccinated on Sunday.
In Israel, 365,042 people have been infected with the coronavirus since March. There are currently 20,792 active infections registered on the website of the Ministry of Health. 3,034 people have died from the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus since February, 688 coronavirus patients are currently being treated in hospitals across the country, 395 of them are in serious condition and 154 people have had to be connected to a fan.
(MTI)
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