Israel’s Health Ministry recorded 1,819 new coronavirus cases in the previous 24 hours on Wednesday morning. There are currently 24,963 active cases, with 379 patients in serious condition, of whom 109 are ventilated. Eleven more fatalities were recorded, raising the death toll to 633.

Health Ministry Director-General Prof. Chezy Levy said on Wednesday that if the infection rate in Israel continues to rise, there will be no choice but to impose another nationwide lockdown.

“We’re in a battle to reduce the infection rate,” Levy said in an interview with Kan Reshet Bet. “We will implement a lockdown if there’s an increase in infections and the number of seriously ill and ventilated patients.”

Coronavirus czar Prof. Ronni Gamzu reiterated the same message in an interview on Army Radio on Wednesday but said he would implement a lockdown only as a measure of last resort.

Gamzu said that the hospitals are currently managing the load. “The hospitals aren’t collapsing but we need the patients to be dispersed in a more efficient manner. We don’t need 100 seriously ill coronavirus patients at Hadassah [in Jerusalem] and 30 in Rambam [in Israel’s north].”

The education and tourism ministries reached an agreement enabling unemployed tour guides to work as educational assistants, the Tourism Ministry stated on Tuesday.

It’s a win-win agreement for the tour guides, who unfortunately have no tourists to guide, and the schools, which require more teachers on staff to open classes in September according to coronavirus regulations.

According to the new NIS 1.2 billion ($351 million) “Learning in Safety” school plan, funds have been allocated to hire 13,000 new teachers and aides.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)