The government unanimously voted to extend Israel's tightened third lockdown for an additional 10 days, Tuesday. The decision by the cabinet will see the country begin to gradually exit the lockdown on January 31. The cabinet also approved mandatory coronavirus testing for anyone planning to enter Israel 72 hours ahead of their flight.
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Arguing for a 10-day extension ahead of Tuesday's meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that ending the lockdown prematurely would be dangerous.
"Many countries in Europe are extending the lockdown until March and even April. We need to immediately decide to extend the current lockdown. It may not be popular and inconvenient during an election, but that is what we need to decide today, and I expect everyone to support" the move, he said.
Netanyahu argued an end to the lockdown would "cost many lives." He said the guiding principle needed to be "the saving of lives and the collapse of the healthcare system, no other consideration. I know it's a difficult decision for many of Israel's citizens but it requires one last effort, a joint effort by all of us to exit the corona [crisis] and save lives."
The cabinet also approved the continued use of the Shin Bet security agency's tracking capabilities for contact tracing purposes for an additional 21 days. Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen had requested the move during the meeting, saying that with the decrease in morbidity, the Shin Bet would employ selective use of the tool, which he noted had saved the lives of at least 500 Israelis to date.
Commenting on the "scandalous" mass wedding held in the Haredi-majority city of Bnei Brak in violation of the lockdown, Netanyahu called on all of Israel's citizens "to stop breaking the law. This is bloodshed. I call on the police to use an iron first against all violators of the law."
According to coronavirus chief Nachman Ash, the increase in morbidity in Israel was due largely to the British strain of the coronavirus.
"The British mutation was found in around 40% of recent infections."
Ash said his recommendation would be to extend the lockdown until Feb. 4.
Ash presented the cabinet with data showing that individuals aged 60 and over continue to constitute 75% of the seriously ill, evidence Israel had yet to see the impact of the coronavirus vaccine on this age group.
Regional Cooperation Minister Ofir Akunis, a member of Netanyahu's Likud party who opposed the lockdown's extension, did not participate in the vote.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz had demanded equal enforcement of the lockdown across all sectors of society for his Blue and White party to support the decision, especially in places where morbidity rates were disproportionately high.
Gantz was likely referring to ultra-Orthodox communities where, despite infection rates far exceeding the national average, locals have not been subject to the same enforcement as the rest of the country.
With 10 pregnant women with COVID-19 hospitalized in serious condition, Tuesday, according to Israel National News, Schneider Women's Hospital Director Professor Arnon Wiesnitzer warned the current wave is "a more violent and severe wave than its predecessors."
Four of the women were admitted to Mayanei Hayeshua Medical Center in Bnei Brak.
A woman in the 31st week of her pregnancy was transferred from Netanya's Laniado hospital to Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikvah when her condition deteriorated. Once there, medical staff decided to immediately deliver the baby because the woman was hooked up to a ventilator. The baby was reported to be in stable condition.
On Sunday, a baby delivered via caesarean section due to the mother having COVID-19 died at the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem, Ynet News reported.
Professor Galia Rahav of Sheba hospital told the Ynet new site that "in previous waves there weren't [so many] women in one day. It could be related to a mutation." She called for the government's policy against vaccinating pregnant women to be re-examined.
Israel currently has 82,930 active cases of the coronavirus, 1,113 of which are serious. Of those in serious condition, 308 are on ventilators. On Tuesday, 8,511 of the 95,465 people who tested for COVID-19 were found to be carrying the virus, for an infection rate of 9.2%. So far, 4,142 people have died.
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