Government Prepares to Impose New Restrictions as Coronavirus Cases Increase

The government of the State of Israel is preparing to reimpose a couple of new restrictions to prevent an outbreak of the novel coronavirus in the country. These may include placing restrictions on gatherings, as well as limiting access for people, who are unvaccinated, to some places. As per reports, added restrictions will be implemented this week. 

The senior officials of the coronavirus cabinet will have a meeting on Tuesday to talk about the rise in the number of infections in the country, owing to the highly infectious, Delta variant. In the meeting, all the ministers present will be shown proposals to help drive down the morbidity in the country. It has considerably risen in the past few weeks, as the country is recording no less than 300 cases in a day. Health experts have cautioned that the caseload could go as high as 1,000 cases per day in the next two weeks if restrictions are not imposed to curb the rise in infections. 

With the number of cases on the rise, the State of Israel has only levied a handful of restrictions, which include the indoor mask mandate. In addition, it has decided to crack down on incoming travelers, who are arriving from all those countries that have confirmed high rates of infection. Quarantine rules are now being strictly enforced for new arrivals. However, the government is trying to actively avoid implementing the restrictions that it got rid of just two months ago. 

Sources have revealed that the government and relevant authorities were thinking of imposing a limited ‘Green Pass’ plan. This would prevent unvaccinated people from gaining access to a couple of venues. But these measures were going to specifically target the reduction of crowds at locations that bring in children and the elderly in droves. It is also expected that the government will soon begin to enforce its reinstated policy for wearing masks indoors. This mandate was lifted in the previous month, only to be implemented once again due to the Delta variant. 

The Health Ministry is also thinking about making it mandatory for vaccinated parents to stay in quarantine if their children test positive for the coronavirus. They will be required to stay in isolation until they are able to attain a negative test. However, the health minister has some reservations regarding this policy, especially regarding the economic toll that it might take. 

Over 60,000 citizens from the State of Israel are currently observing the rules of quarantine, as revealed by a report published by the Health Ministry. The outgoing Director-General of the Health Ministry, Chezy Levy, went on to add that the country will once again need to limit gatherings of large crowds, especially amongst the unvaccinated and children. He revealed that there has been a significant rise in the number of people in hospice, due to contracting the coronavirus. 

As of now, the total number of active cases in the State of Israel is 2,438, and 34 people are in critical condition.