The Health Ministry stated on Thursday that 3,904 cases were diagnosed on Wednesday, breaking Israel’s own record of daily cases since the start of the pandemic for the second time this week.

The number of active cases is 31,769, with 474 seriously ill patients, of whom 133 are ventilated. The death toll has risen to 1,054.

The coronavirus cabinet convened on Thursday afternoon to discuss the possibility of a nationwide lockdown, possibly over the Yamim Tovim.

Health Ministry Director-General Prof. Chezy Levy said on Thursday that Israel needs to take more drastic measures to stem the coronavirus infection rate. “The hospital wards are filling, the staff is burned out,” he said, warning that doctors may “have to hospitalize patients at the expense of other patients.”

“We’re intending to request implementation of tight restrictions before the Chagim. We simply can’t wait with this extreme rise in the infection rate.”

“Every day we see the situation [infection rate] from two weeks earlier [in the number of hospitalized patients] – that’s the nature of the virus. If we impose a short lockdown, we won’t achieve results. Therefore a lockdown needs to be at least three-four weeks in order to see results and truly stem the infection rate.”

“We’re aware of the financial consequences and that’s why we tried all types of alternative options in order not to impose a full lockdown. But even with our proposal for a lockdown, we’re trying to create a situation that the economy or the driving forces of the economy will continue to function.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)