Israel's coronavirus infection rate stands at 0.65% according to Health Ministry data. Of the 81,276 people who tested for the virus Wednesday, 489 were found to have the disease.
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There are 6,390 active cases of the virus. There are 146 people in serious condition, the lowest number seen in the country since July. Of those who are seriously ill, 102 are on ventilators.
Although 1,321,324 Israelis have recovered from the virus since the outbreak of the pandemic, 8,136 have died.
On the vaccination front, 6,253,450 Israelis have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, while 5,749,708 have received two doses. Over 4 million Israelis – 4,006,649 – have received all three available doses of the vaccine.
With a panel of experts recommending children ages 5 to 11 be authorized to receive Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine Wednesday night, Health Ministry Director-General Nachman Ash told Kan Radio Thursday the ministry would not wait until the next wave arrived but would rather begin vaccinating children as early as this month.
Speaking to Kan Radio, he said, "Parents can be confident. It is impossible to wait 10 years to be sure what impact the vaccine has in the long term. Even long-term repercussions of the disease can be severe. The vaccinations will begin in November.
"From a national context, every person who gets vaccinated contributes to the possibility the fifth wave won't break out. Waiting for an increase in morbidity is not the right thing to do. We don't know when it will happen, and vaccines take time. Even now there are around 200 children infected each day, and we want to prevent that."
Taking a slightly more reserved tone in an interview with Army Radio, he said the Health Ministry would not rush vaccines for children who had recovered from the disease.
"I'm deliberating. There's a chance we will hold a more in-depth discussion. We don't want to administer a vaccine if we don't need to, but we don't want children who became ill a long time ago to think they are protected when they're not," he said.
Also on Thursday, Israel's kicked off the world's first-ever drill to examine national coronavirus preparedness in the event a new variant was to enter the country. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and other senior officials, such as Director of Public Health Services at the Health Ministry Sharon Elroi-Preiss, Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee Gilad Kariv, and representatives from the National Security Council and Israel Defense Forces were set to attend the large-scale event. Intelligence units and emergency services are also set to participate in the exercise, which will simulate a war game scenario in which senior officials from various offices will need to contend with a new variant called "Omega," that has yet to be discovered in Israel.
Beyond evacuating the ill, the drill will also focus on communication with the public, legal issues such as blockades and quarantines, and economic issues such as stimulus packages and budgeting for the emergency situation.
Upon the completion of the exercise, the various government bodies' performance will be analyzed to formulate recommendations.
Commenting on the drill, Bennett said, "The State of Israel is in an excellent position. We've beaten the fourth wave...
"We aren't packing up … We are continuing to practice and challenge ourselves. While the coronavirus situation is getting worse around the world, Israel is safe and protected. To ensure it stays that way, and to ensure we can carry on with our routine lives, we must keep our finger on the pulse and prepare for every scenario."
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