Israel may need to enter a fourth lockdown ahead of the March 23 election, coronavirus czar Prof. Nachman Ash said in an interview with Radio 103FM on Wednesday morning on the background of a worrying rise in Israel’s basic reproduction number [how many people each carrier infects].

“We’ll have to see the data in the next couple of weeks,” he said. “It’s definitely a possibility that we will recommend a fourth lockdown before the election.”

Israel has begun reopening its economy, with further restrictions scheduled to be lifted on Sunday. And while the infection rate and the number of seriously ill virus patients on Wednesday were the lowest since December, the basic reproduction or R number has increased to 1.

The Health Ministry has established an R number of 1 or below as one of the criteria for easing restrictions and Ash is concerned that this number is rising.

Deputy Health Minister Yoav Kisch told Ynet on Wednesday that if Israel’s R number rises above 1, it’s possible that the next stage of the exit plan, scheduled for Sunday, will be frozen.

“Nothing is a done deal,” Kisch said. “On Thursday, a decision will be made based on the [latest] coronavirus data. There is a huge difference between a basic reproduction number that is below 1, which means that the virus outbreak is abating, and higher than 1, which means that the outbreak is worsening. If the R number rises significantly, we will not approve another reopening – we will recommend halting it.”

The Health Ministry reported 4,265 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday morning, with tests showing a positivity rate of 4.8%, the lowest in two months.

The number of seriously ill patients dropped by 24 to 717, of whom 224 are ventilated. Nineteen more fatalities were recorded on Tuesday, raising the death toll to 5,797.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)