There are 20,869 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Israel as of Monday, an increase of 56 from Sunday at midnight

The number of active cases has risen to 4,848. The number of patients in serious condition rose by six to a total of 46, of whom 29 are ventilated. Two more deaths were recorded, raising the death toll to 307.

Five patients arrived at hospitals in serious condition on Sunday alone, the highest number in recent weeks.

The Knesset Coronavirus Committee met on Monday to discuss possible measures to stem the rise of coronavirus cases. According to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, four steps are being considered to stem the rise of the coronavirus, including a dramatic increase in enforcing health regulations; the use of digital tracking tools; limiting the number of people permitted at gatherings and regional closures.

Israel Railways resumed operations on Monday after three months of no service due to the coronavirus crisis.

עולים על הפסים: רכבת ישראל שבה לפעילות לאחר שלושה חודשים בהם הושבתה@einavkerner pic.twitter.com/7HsaOuZPTm

— גלצ (@GLZRadio) June 22, 2020

However, demand is currently low. According to a Ynet report, only 38,000 tickets were ordered versus a typical pre-coronavirus workday when the average was 250,000 tickets.

רכבת כמעט ריקה ליד באר שבע, הביקושים נמוכים מאד הבוקר. תמונה של @InTheRakevet pic.twitter.com/FtrKdFMRuZ

— 🏳️‍🌈Asaf Zagrizak (@AsafZagrizak) June 22, 2020

One of the reasons for the low demand is that in light of the increased number of coronavirus cases among IDF soldiers in recent days, they have been banned from riding trains. Security guards prevented any soldiers from entering.

According to the regulations, each train can hold only up to 500 passengers versus the standard 800-1,000 passengers. Tickets must be ordered in advance, face masks must be worn and eating and drinking on the train is forbidden.

Another department of the Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv was closed on Monday after additional medical professionals at the hospital were diagnosed with the coronaviurs, Ynet reported on Monday.

There are 56 medical staffers at Ichilov in isolation, 11 at Sheba Hospital in Tel HaShomer, 35 at Rambam Hospital in Haifa, 42 at Soroka Hospital in Be’er Sheva and 41 at Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tikvah.

Following an increasingly growing number of coronavirus cases in the Palestinian Authority (PA), PA Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh instituted new restrictions, including a lockdown of the hard-hit Hebron area for five days and the second hardest-hit area of Shechem for 48 hours.

The restrictions include a ban on public gatherings and events.

A total of 108 virus cases were diagnosed in the PA over the weekend, raising the total number of cases to 1,022.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)