On Wednesday, around 765 new cases of the deadly coronavirus were recorded in the State of Israel. Of the total number of tests carried out, 1.38% turned up positive, as per the update provided by the Health Ministry on Thursday morning.
From all those infected, 54 people were in serious condition, whereas 16 were placed on ventilators. As of now, the death toll in the country stands at 6,443.
Around 50% of the newly reported cases were discovered in people who had been fully inoculated. 61.1% of the people in serious condition also fall in this category. In addition, no less than 1,100 children were given the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine on Wednesday.
In a joint press conference with Nitzan Horowitz, the health minister, on Wednesday, the Prime Minister of Israel, Naftali Bennett, said that in order to beat the coronavirus crisis, the cooperation of the people is of utmost importance. He went on to add that it is possible for the country to defeat the rising number of cases in a time span of only five weeks, without implementing new restrictions and lockdowns.
Urging the citizens of Israel to take the situation seriously, he informed how the Delta variant is readily overwhelming the world. He stressed that the current government is fully committed towards the protection of the health of the public, with little to no disruption of daily life. According to him, if the people want to avoid having to follow severe restrictions, they will need to show that they are handling the situation with responsibility. He appealed to them to get vaccinated, maintain social distance, avoid shaking hands, and wear a mask at all times indoors.
In his speech, the Prime Minister also placed blame on Benjamin Netanyahu, his predecessor, for not handling the coronavirus crisis well. He said that the country has two options to exercise, one being to practice indifference and not follow coronavirus guidelines, while blaming the government for the surge in cases. He said that this would lead to a further spike in cases, forcing the relevant authorities to initiate a lockdown. Going on to explain the second option, Bennett said that the citizens of the State of Israel could strictly adhere to restrictions and the deadly disease will be gone in a matter of five weeks.
The leader of the country laid emphasis on the proven efficacy of masks when it comes to lower infection rates. He revealed that police officials had been instructed as well to ensure the enforcement of wearing masks indoors and hand out fines to people violating this particular guideline amongst others.
While concluding his speech, the Prime Minister added that 1.5 million people in the country, as well as 300,000 youngsters are still unvaccinated at the moment. He urged them to get vaccinated to prevent stricter policies and lockdowns. Bennett implored the citizens to not attend mass gatherings and abide by coronavirus guidelines laid down by the relevant authorities. He encouraged not shaking hands but bumping elbows instead.