• Tue. Mar 19th, 2024

Infection Rate Rises to 0.93 Despite Vaccination Campaign

Feb 25, 2021

On Thursday, a prominent member of the Health Ministry stated that the timeline announced by the Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, may not be carried out accordingly. Just a day earlier, the leader of the State of Israel held a press conference, in which he illustrated a five-step plan to reopen the country, as well as their dates and timings. 

Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis, the Head of Public Health Services, asserted that she is not committing to reopening the country in just a month. According to her, the resumption of regular activities in Israel will depend on various factors, for example, the morbidity rate. 

As per the plan presented by Netanyahu, the education system in the country will be further opened at the beginning of the second week of March. In addition, all Israelis working in the commercial sector, who are eligible to receive vaccination, will be inoculated by the end of the month. The leader expressed hope that the country will be able to return to normal life in April. 

The plan presented by Netanyahu is a reflection of the plan originally presented by the Health Ministry itself. However, officials believe that it may be a little too forthcoming. Ever since schools were opened up, along with a couple of parts of the economy, the reproduction rate in the country has also been on the rise. The R or reproduction rate shows the number of people infected by a sick person. 

On Thursday, the data revealed that the R had hit 0.93, which is 0.03 more than the number it was a day before. On the other hand, the rate had declined to 0.79 on Sunday. 

If the infection rate goes over one, then there is a possibility that Israel will be forced to stop opening up the economy. This recommendation was made by the Health Ministry itself. 

On Wednesday, more than 4,200 people had tested positive for the coronavirus, as was reported by the Ministry on Thursday. Of the people who were screened, 5.9% came up with a positive result. Around 770 of the active cases in the country are in a serious condition, which includes 249 who are currently intubated. The death toll climbed to 5,673. 

Dr. Erez Barenboim, the director-general of the Samson Assuta University Hospital, said that the country is in dire need of learning from its past and not repeat its mistakes. In his opinion, the economy should be opened, while keeping in mind the reproduction rate and the number of patients in Israel. In recent days, both these numbers have increased, which, according to the doctor, are a warning sign to halt steps towards the opening of the economy. 

According to the doctor, it is too soon to predict that the number of patients in the coronavirus wards in the country will decrease in the coming month. He said that the rate of decline has slowed, and the dangerous epidemic continues to have a stronghold on the lives of the people. 

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