Israel’s Health Ministry confirmed 2,004 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday morning in the previous 24 hours, the first day since the lockdown was imposed that daily cases hovered around 2,000 – the number that the Health Ministry said must be achieved before restrictions are eased. The positivity rate is 5.4%.

The number of seriously ill patients has dropped by almost 200 in the past several days to 739, but the number of ventilated patients continues to rise, currently standing at 247. The death toll has risen to 2,109.

Israel’s coronavirus cabinet convened on Thursday afternoon and will likely approve the easing of some lockdown restrictions, including allowing the reopening of private businesses that don’t receive the public, the opening of pre-schools and kindergartens, and allowing restuarants to provide take-out service. Health Minister Yuli Edelstein confirmed earlier on Thursday that pre-schools and kindergartens will reopen on Sunday.

Additional restrictions that may be eased are the one-kilometer restriction on movement and the opening of beaches and national parks.

Coronavirus czar Prof. Ronni Gamzu stated on Army Radio on Thursday morning that it’s still too early to conclude that the reduction of daily cases will continue, saying that the trend must continue for at least a week before further conclusions can be drawn.

However, he said that he will recommend to the cabinet to approve the easing of some restrictions by the beginning of next week.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)