Drive-thru testing
Drive-thru testingSpokesperson for former PM Benjamin Netanyahu

Has Israel been too quick to rejoice? Despite cautionary voices whispering in the background that “coronavirus is still here,” the general feeling on the street was that the vaccination campaign had been a stunning success and the raging epidemic had been defeated. No longer. With at least two outbreaks now confirmed, both sourced abroad despite Covid-19 testing at points of entry into the country, the government is reimposing restrictions that few will be glad to see return.

According to a report on Kan 11 on Monday, coronavirus czar Prof. Nachman Ash has ordered the Home Front Command to reopen drive-thru coronavirus testing centers, in an attempt to prevent the current outbreaks from becoming widespread.

Prof. Ash, interviewed earlier in the day by Yediot Aharonot, addressed the increasing rate of contagion caused by carriers entering the country from abroad. “I think that this summer, what with the contagion levels and the mutations that are going around, it’s not responsible to travel abroad with children who have yet to be vaccinated,” he said. “People are going to have to find alternatives, and I know, of course, that it’s not easy – this is the second year of the epidemic and everyone wants to go abroad – but we’re just going to have to wait a bit longer in order to get through this safely before winter arrives. We don’t absolutely have to travel abroad, after all,” he added.

Ash explained that, “This is an issue of enforcement. Obviously we can’t hermetically seal the borders, but we can certainly enforce the regulations more strictly at every stage of the process. I hope that the Prime Minister intends to actually do this.”

The coronavirus czar was then asked about plans to reopen the country to tourists, and replied: “These are still going to go forward, although I can’t promise that [the restrictions will be dropped within] the next week and a half – but as the situation stands today, we are still planning to reopen the country to tourists. In coming days, we’ll be revisiting the situation as far as contagion rates go, and we want to make sure that everything is done safely, with only vaccinated people allowed in from countries using vaccines that we trust. Those entering the country will also have to be tested.”

Questioned about the reversal of plans to nix the requirement for face masks entirely, Prof. Ash responded, “Our recommendation [to again require the wearing of masks] refers to enclosed spaces in areas where outbreaks have been detected. We have yet to see if we’ll manage to gain control over these outbreaks, and of course I hope very much that we will succeed. On the other hand, the numbers are going up, both in Binyamina and in Modi’in as well as nearby locations, and this is extremely concerning. If we don’t succeed in containing these outbreaks, we will most likely have to reverse our course to a certain degree. First of all, however, we have to see whether the steps we are already taking are sufficient, and to inspire public confidence in what we’re doing. Even when masks were required, there were plenty of places where people didn’t comply and didn’t wear them, and I don’t want to return to a situation where the regulations exist on paper but not in practice.

“Within the next few days we’ll be able to see how things are developing,” he added, “and then we’ll decide on how to move forward. We have excellent people working at the Health Ministry and they have made excellent decisions – and we will be making more good decisions in the future, and holding meetings with experts in the field and with the relevant ministers. Even if disagreements arise, we’ll find a way forward – we can always go to the Prime Minister for a deciding vote.”

Ash was asked for his view on vaccinating children aged between 12 and 15, and responded that, “Yesterday at our meeting we were unanimously in favor. There was some disagreement over the question of children at high risk of developing complications, and this, taken together with the latest outbreaks and the arrival of the Delta [i.e. Indian] mutation here in Israel, means that the picture has changed somewhat, and I anticipate that in the near future we will be able to give definitive advice.”

Earlier on Monday, it was reported that 48 new coronavirus cases have been diagnosed in the last day, for a total of 839,940 confirmed cases since the epidemic’s outbreak. 33,972 tests were conducted yesterday, for a positivity rate of 0.1%. There are currently 358 active cases of the virus in the country. To date, 6,427 people have passed away from coronavirus-related complications.

5,495,050 people have already received their first vaccine dose, and 5,150,492 people have received both Pfizer vaccine doses.