The Health Ministry on Sunday ordered all Israeli hospitals to reopen their coronavirus wards, following an uptick in the number of cases diagnosed over the weekend.
As of Saturday evening, 341 new COVID-19 cases have been diagnosed in the span of 24 hours, the country's highest daily figure since April. Israel has recorded 20,633 infections since the outbreak of the epidemic, out of which 15,659 people have recovered.
The number of deaths caused by the virus is 305 people. Throughout the country, 192 coronavirus patients are currently hospitalized, 40 are in critical condition, and 27 are on ventilators. Additionally, 905 healthcare workers are in isolation.
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Officials in the Prime Minister's Office on Saturday described the significant rise in the number of coronavirus cases in Israel, specifically the number of patients in serious condition, as "disconcerting." Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu still isn't categorizing the renewed outbreak of the virus as a "second wave," but is instructing the relevant bodies to take urgent preventative measures to enforce public safety protocols in an effort to curb the chain of infections.
The goal is for 100% of Israelis to wear protective masks. To that end, Netanyahu is examining the possibility of increasing monetary fines for those caught without a mask in public, significantly bolstering the ranks of epidemiological investigators by about 300 people, and reintroducing localized quarantines and other actions to curb the rate of infection.
At this stage, there was still no intention to reinstate the use of the Shin Bet security agency's tracking technology. However, officials at the National Security Council said it is now extremely difficult today to immediately locate people who have come into contact with confirmed coronavirus carriers. Without the tracking mechanism, an infected person can pass the virus on to others for at least 48 hours without being flagged.
National Security Adviser Meir Ben Shabbat was expected to meet with the directors of the various government ministries early Sunday morning. Netanyahu was also expected to attend the meeting. The so-called corona-cabinet was scheduled to convene again on Monday to discuss the situation. At this stage, the prime minister still opposes imposing a countrywide quarantine in an effort to maintain economic recovery.
"As time goes by, the whole world is also learning more and we are learning lessons. We need to get used to living with the pandemic until a vaccine is found," an official in the Prime Minister's Office said.
Also Saturday, the IDF Military Intelligence Directorate issued a report saying the new outbreak has "different characteristics" from the initial wave which hit Israel earlier in the year, yet it's no less deadly and will cause thousands of new cases every day, resulting in many hundreds of fatalities.
"Difficult economic decisions," meaning renewed shutdowns of wide swaths of the economy, can be avoided only if more localized measures are adopted immediately, the report said.
However, Dr. Hagai Levine, a senior Hebrew University epidemiologist, dismissed the report as "unprofessional," saying that the task force was made up chiefly of IDF officials and did not include medical professionals.
The pandemic was accelerating in other parts of the world as well.
"The world is in a new and dangerous phase," World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a virtual briefing from WHO headquarters in Geneva. "The virus is still spreading fast, it is still deadly, and most people are still susceptible."
More than 8.53 million people have been reported infected by the coronavirus globally and at least 453,834 have died.
Tedros, whose leadership of the WHO has been severely criticized by US President Donald Trump, urged people to maintain social distancing and "extreme vigilance."
As well as the Americas, a large number of new cases were coming from South Asia and the Middle East, Tedros added.
WHO emergencies expert Mike Ryan drew attention to the situation in Brazil, which has the world's worst outbreak outside the United States, with 978,142 confirmed cases and 47,748 deaths.
With many nations easing restrictions but fearful of another wave of infections, Ryan urged a gradual and scientific approach.
"Exiting lockdowns must be done carefully, in a step-wise manner, and must be driven by the data," he said. "If you don't know where it is the chances are the virus will surprise you."
Ryan said the resurgence of new clusters did not necessarily mean a second wave, while "second peaks" were also possible in one wave. He praised Germany, China, and South Korea for their handling of the pandemic.
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With trials underway around the world to find medicines and a vaccine for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, WHO officials warned that large-scale testing would be needed, with side-effects carefully monitored.
"Although it is not impossible to find a vaccine ... it's going to be a very difficult journey," Tedros said.
