The Israeli cabinet committee in charge of the fight against the coronavirus epidemic was expected to meet on Monday to discuss a host of measures aimed at tightening lockdown restrictions, as experts predict 1,000 or 2,000 more COVID-19 deaths by November if the current rate of infection is not curtailed.
The urgent meeting comes days after Israel went into a second nationwide lockdown was reimposed on Friday afternoon just ahead of Rosh Hashanah. As of Sunday, a total of 188,427 have been diagnosed with the virus, of which 1,256 have died.
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The ministers' deliberations were scheduled after some 50 new deaths linked to COVID-19 were reported over the two-day holiday, according to Health Ministry data. The number of confirmed new cases on Sunday was somewhat lower than previous days, but that could be linked to the scaled back-testing operation during the weekend and holiday.
The number of positive tests stood at almost 11%, suggesting community spread was still rampant.
Some ministers also believe that attendance at synagogues should be reduced, but not until after Yom Kippur next week.
On Saturday, Israeli police distributed hundreds of fines for violating the general lockdown rules imposed across the country since Friday afternoon, in place for at least three weeks to curb the number of infections stemming from the coronavirus epidemic.
Israel is considered to have the highest daily rate of new COVID-19 infections per-capita in the world, with some 5,300 cases being confirmed on Saturday alone.
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Police and Health Ministry officials said, however, that the lockdown was largely observed throughout the holiday.
Meanwhile, a panel of experts from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem warned on Sunday that another 1,000 deaths due to COVID-19 complications could be expected by November if the current rate of infection is maintained.
They further warned that this figure could double unless new restrictions are imposed. On top of that, the number of patients on ventilators is expected to rise significantly in the next two weeks, from 170 to 250.
i24NEWS contributed to this report.
