The number of new coronavirus cases in Israel continues to climb. On Tuesday, the Health Ministry reported 18 new confirmed cased, bringing the country's total number of coronavirus patients to at least 79.
One patient, a bus driver who was with a group of tourists from Greece, is still hospitalized in serious condition. Another five patients are listed in moderate to light condition. Three of the Israelis who contracted the virus have made a full recovery.
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For the first time in Israel, a child has been infected with coronavirus. The boy, 9, is a resident of central Israel and contracted the virus during a vacation to Spain. Palestinian news outlets are reporting that a two-year-old in Bethlehem is sick with coronavirus, making him one of the youngest patients in the world. These are notable developments, because there have been very few reported cases of children contracting the virus.
Until this week, all the cases in Israel were linked to foreign travel. But the case of an infected ambulance driver suggests community spread may be starting.
Meanwhile, a member of Israel's epidemic management team said Tuesday that the stringent restrictions for all visitors arriving in Israel to self-isolate for two weeks could be eased if the coronavirus outbreak begins to spread locally en masse.
Ran Balicer, chief innovation officer for Clalit Health Services, said these measures might need to be replaced by other measures such as changing practices at schools and workplaces Full containment is not possible in the long term, Balicer told Reuters by phone. He himself has been in home isolation since returning from a trip to Germany.
"We know this is bound to eventually fail and we are only trying to delay as much as possible this kind of massive dissemination," he said.
At some point the travel restrictions will not be necessary and the moderate social distancing currently in place will not suffice, he said.
Balicer noted that Israel's conditions were unique, with only one major airport, Ben-Gurion International near Tel Aviv, and relatively limited movement across borders.
In Ramallah, Palestinian authorities ordered cafes and restaurants closed as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of the territory's 26 positive cases.
Israel shut the Allenby Bridge crossing between Jordan and the West Bank on Tuesday. The measure was taken as part of joint Palestinian, Jordanian and Israeli efforts to stop the virus from spreading, a unit of the Defense Ministry said.
