There has been a continuing, vexing rise in people testing positive for Covid-19 this month with another 288 new infections reported over the last 24 hours, up from 258 in the 24 hours before that, the Ministry of Health reports.
There are 39 people seriously ill with the virus, and 29 people on ventilators - no change from yesterday. The number of fatalities has risen by one over the past 24 hours to 303. There have been 19,783 cases of coronavirus overall in Israel, of whom 15,487 have recovered.
Nevertheless, Israel's coronavirus cabinet decided this evening on further relaxations of restrictions. After several postponements and three months without operations, Israel Railways will resume services on Monday. Passengers will be required to wear masks at all times and purchase tickets in advance. In addition, cultural performances will also resume next week, probably before audiences of no more than 250, though a final decision has yet to be made.
Minister of Finance Israel Katz has told Channel 11 News that we will not return to lockdown despite the rising number of new infections.
The Ministry of Health has identified three current hotspots of new virus cases - the Jaffa neighborhood of Ajami, and the villages of Houri and Ararra.
The emergency measures by which Israel Police enforces the health instructions such as wearing masks in public, dispersing crowds and going into self-isolation were renewed last night by the Knesset and fines are again being imposed for violations.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on June 17, 2020
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