Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis, the head of the Health Ministry’s Public Health division, said on Tuesday that despite a recent increase in Israel’s reproduction number, the pandemic is beginning to die out in Israel, Ynet reported.

Israel R number, how many people each carrier infects, has increased from 0.52 to 0.78 but Alroy-Preis isn’t worried.

“The R number is still well below 0.8 and is certainly below 1,” she said.

An R number below 1 is an indication that the virus rate is receding. Dr. Alroy-Preis believes that the spike in the R number is due to the increase in the number of virus tests being performed after Pesach.

“The pandemic is dying out, albeit at a slower pace. We currently have a little over 300 daily COVID cases. This is a very significant decline, Most of the localities in Israel have low morbidity. Meanwhile, there are almost no significant virus concentrations and no hotspots at all.”

“This allows us to open up the economy and give the green light for weddings, concerts and events, as well as gradually opening up the education system.”

However, despite Alroy-Preis’ optimism, she warned that Israelis cannot afford to be complacent.

“We still have large swaths of the population that have yet to get vaccinated, including a large number of children. That is why we will open the education system carefully, all while keeping the capsule-learning format [studying in small groups].”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)