Hebrew University of Jerusalem researchers who have been tracking the infection rate in Israel on a daily basis claimed today that, "due to the stabilization of the number of people hospitalized in a severe or moderate condition, control of the second wave has apparently been achieved."
However, 1,968 new cases of Covid-19 were found yesterday in Israel, the Ministry of Health reports, slightly below the record number of new people who tested positive on Tuesday. The number of Israelis in serious condition fell while the number of those on ventilators rose by one to 99.
According to the team which includes Prof. Ronit Calderon of the Faculty of Medicine and Prof. Yinon Ashkenazy of the Institute of Physics, the rate of seriously and moderately ill patients with Covid-19 in Israel would now double at a rate of every 27 days, and this rate is falling because the effective r (reproduction) rate is below one, which means that the number of cases is on the wane.
The researchers credit the measures taken by the government, in particular, to limit crowding and closing wedding halls, and the concern that hospital would be overwhelmed with serious cases is now more remote. Nevertheless, 200 more deaths are expected over the next three weeks following the wave of new infections during July. There have already been 497 fatalities in Israel from Covid-19 including four over the past day.
The researchers conclude that because of the anticipated fall in new cases, there is currently no need to roll out more restrictions, and that Israel has successfully halted the latest wave of Covid-19 without the need for a full lockdown. The most critical need at the moment is to prevent crowding in small enclosed spaces.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on July 30, 2020 © Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2020