Prime Minister Naftali Bennett will convene a special meeting with health officials on Sunday, after the R factor rose to 1.02 on Saturday evening.
Ahead of the Hanukah holiday festivities early next month, there is concern among health officials of a new wave of coronavirus spreading.
and ahead of the Hanukah holiday festivities early next month, there is concern among health officials of a new wave of coronavirus spreading.Professor Dror Mevorach, who heads an internal medicine ward at the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem said the rising R factor requires careful monitoring.
An outbreak of COVID-19 was reported in an elementary school in Tzur Hadassah near Jerusalem with 28 students and two teachers having been infected by the virus. At lease nine classes were asked to isolate.
Professor Dror Mevorach, who heads an internal medicine ward at the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem said the rising R factor requires careful monitoring.
"As soon as it is found to exceed 1, we can expect a rise in confirmed COVID cases, hospitalizations and serious illness," he said. " We must all understand that the pandemic is no longer receding."
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A coronavirus ward at the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem in September
(Photo: Hadassah spokesperson )
Bennett announced on Friday that Israel will begin vaccinating children aged 5 to 11 on Tuesday in the hopes of achieving herd immunity.
He referred to the fourth wave of the pandemic as the "children's wave," in his public comments. He said 49% of infections were in children up to the age of 11 and said he would instruct Hanukah holiday events to be held under strict Green Pass regulations.
Bennett also raised the possibility that vaccination sites will be opened near venues hosting large Hanukah events in order to offer parents easy access to vaccines.
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A child receives her pediatric COVID vaccine in the U.S. earlier this month
(Photo: AP)
The Health Ministry said that over the past 30 days, more than 60% of newly confirmed cases were in the under 20 population with more than a third in children under 9, although there are currently no serious COVID-19 cases in that population.
Some health experts voiced their concern that COVID cases could be brought in through the international airport, especially in light of the surge in morbidity in Europe, brought on by the Delta variant.
Still, officials noted that since passengers are required to show a recent PCR test before boarding their flights to Israel and are then made to submit to another test upon their arrival, the risk of morbidity from travelers remains low.
In fact, they say, of the new cases detected in recent weeks, only around 3% were found in people who had entered the country.
First published: 08:45, 11.21.21