By: Aryeh Savir
Israel experienced on Monday the worst day of new Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases since the outbreak in the country with the Health Ministry documenting 10,021 new cases.
The Ministry of Health updated Tuesday morning that of the 100,693 tests done on Monday, a very high and climbing 10.1% returned positive.
A high number of 1,114 patients hospitalized with Corona are in serious condition, 277 of them are on life support.
Over 2,185,100 Israelis have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, some 24.5% of the population.
Some 186,000 people were vaccinated on Sunday, 72,000 received the first dose, and 114,000 the second dose.
4,049 Israelis have died of the virus.
Israel has also seen an alarming increase in the number of pregnant women who contracted the virus and are in serious condition. At least nine pregnant women are currently hospitalized in critical condition in hospitals across the country.
Following the large number of cases, the Israeli Association of Obstetrics and Gynecology sent its opinion to the Ministry of Health in which it called for pregnant women to be vaccinated.
“There is no scientific basis or facts to suggest infertility as a result of the vaccine. The Coronavirus can be harmful during pregnancy, causing more serious illness and premature birth – so it is important to get vaccinated to prevent the virus,” the opinion said.
Some health officials have offered that the increase in cases in pregnant women is the result of one of the mutations.
The government is slated to convene Tuesday to discuss the extension of the third countrywide lockdown beyond the initial two weeks.
The Ministry of Health is expected to ask for an extension of another two weeks, explaining that there is still no decrease in the number of hospitalized patients.
Several ministers are expected to oppose such a long extension and are said to agree to another nine days, until the end of January.
In a related development, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu participated on Monday in a video conference of leaders hosted by Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz on the global combat against the Coronavirus (COVID-19).
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis were also in attendance.
This was the sixth such conference that Netanyahu attended.
Netanyahu noted that the seven countries that took part in the conference “have populations of five to 12 million. Why don’t we seriously talk about forming a conglomeration for research? We all have research and scientific capabilities. We all have technological capabilities. We have to develop this capacity. We cannot be at the mercy of market forces.”
(TPS)
