Israel is working to increase the number of coronavirus vaccines it is set to acquire from drug maker Moderna, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday, noting he had spoken with Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel on the matter. A new contract would be signed with the company in the next few days, he said. Netanyahu noted that Israel would be among the first countries to receive vaccines from Moderna as well as Pfizer. Both pharmaceutical companies' vaccines have been found to be over 94% effective in clinical trials.
Also on Wednesday, the so-called "coronavirus cabinet" approved an increase in the number of customers allowed in street shops and stores in open-air shopping centers. The number of shoppers allowed in stores will be limited to a maximum of 10 people regardless of the store's size.
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The cabinet further approved the designation of the southern Israeli city of Eilat and the Dead Sea area as "tourism islands." The cabinet also approved the opening of zoos across the country.
Earlier in the week, Netanyahu asked the Health Ministry and the National Security Council to propose coronavirus restrictions that would bring down the infection rate while still allowing for the continued opening of the economy and the education system "in a responsible manner." Although the two bodies said there were no such concrete options available, a team of experts working with coronavirus chief Nachman Ash submitted its proposals for avoiding a lockdown last week.
According to Professor Ran Balicer, an epidemiologist in charge of health planning for Clalit Health Services who heads Ash's team experts, each time a coronovirus restriction is rolled back, there must be some government activity that brings down the rate of infection.
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Among the team's recommendations were increased fines on violating restricitons, as well as putting those fines into law. In addition, the team called to improve epidemiological investigations to focus not just on contacts but also on locations where there has been widespread infection. Another proposal would see the use of QR codes upon entering stores. Such moves would help ascertain whether a person became infected inside a store. The experts further recommended increasing COVID-19 testing, in particular for high-risk populations, as well as mandatory testing for pedagogical staff. Another recommendation would see the promotion of differential solutions aimed at adjusting the "traffic light" system, which classifies cities, towns, and local authorities as red, orange, yellow, or green depending on their COVID numbers, to the current rate of infection and implementing the system nationwide.
Although a decision on implementing the team's recommendations has yet to be made, Balicer said he was optimistic that cabinet members would be open to their ideas.
In Israel, 326,628 people have been infected with the coronavirus. There are 8,381 active cases, 306 of which are serious. One hundred and thirty- six people are on ventilators. The infection rate stands at 1.7%. So far, 2,736 people have died of the virus.
