A senior health expert said Thursday that if the recent COVID surge in the country continues, health officials will recommend bringing back the "Green Pass" guidelines.
Israel, a world leader in coronavirus vaccinations, has recently seen a resurgence in coronavirus and on Thursday reported its highest daily infection rate in three months as it scrambles to contain the spread of the new delta variant.
"This outbreak shows no sign of slowing down," Prof. Ran Balicer, who heads a panel of medical professionals advising the Health Ministry, told Ynet.
"I want to remind you that from the moment you impose measures to the moment you see results, it takes between seven and ten days at least. We started with moderate steps, like returning the mask mandate, and we'll see what happens."
The professor added that if the measures that have been brought back so far, as well as the tightening of borders, don't show results in one week, health experts will recommend imposing further restrictions, including bringing back the Green Pass order.
"If there is no decrease [in infection rate] within a week, we will recommend bringing back the Green Pass."
Green Pass is a certificate issued to those who have either received both vaccine jabs or have recovered from COVID. Before Israel lifted all of its coronavirus restrictions, Green Pass had to be presented at entrances to most public facilities.
The Health Ministry on Thursday reported 307 new cases on Wednesday, the highest since April, and a rise from 293 newly-diagnosed cases a day earlier. The health ministry reportedly expects those numbers to jump in coming days, raising concerns that Israel is plunging back toward a crisis.
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A teenager reacts while receiving a dose of the coronavirus vaccine at a Tel Aviv clinic, June 21, 2021
(Photo: Reuters)
In recent months, Israel has reopened businesses, schools and event venues, lifting nearly all restrictions after it inoculated some 85% of the adult population.
Though worrying, the trend still shows little uptick when it comes to deaths from the virus. In the past two weeks, the ministry recorded only one. In Israel, 5.1 million people, among its population of 9.3 million, have received the required double dose of vaccinations. Another 400,000 have received at least one dose.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett for the first time appointed a coronavirus commissioner to manage arrivals at the main gateway into Israel, Ben Gurion International Airport, which he called "a huge national vulnerability." Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked on Wednesday said officials are prepared to close the airport if the trend worsens.
Associated Press contributed to this report