Military Intelligence: 'For every two additional days at the current rate of infection, a day of lockdown will be required'"

December 4, 2020   

The National Information and Knowledge Center of the Israeli Defense Forces is calling this morning (Friday) to stop the easing of restrictions, in order to stem the surge in morbidity. The Military Intelligence report published today states that a clear and consistent increase in the number of confirmed cases continues - with more than 1,000 infected people per day on a weekly average. Military Intelligence notes that even if part of the increase in morbidity can be attributed to the increase in the number of tests, this is not the main reason, and warns that in recent days there has been an increase in morbidity among those aged 60 and over, which could lead to an increase in severe morbidity within about a week. According to the report, analysis of the data and the spread of morbidity in the various sectors suggests that we are at the beginning of a third wave of morbidity, and it seems that preventing additional easing will not be enough, but that it is necessary to re-examine the reinstatement of restrictions that have already been lifted. "In order to illustrate the possible cost of the increase in morbidity - at the current rate of increase, for every two additional days in which the existing rate of infection is maintained, a day of full lockdown will be required to return the situation to normal," the Military Intelligence report states. In light of the continuing increase in coronavirus cases in Israel, the Coronavirus Cabinet is expected to convene on Sunday to discuss the next steps that are expected to be taken to curb the spread of the pandemic in Israel. The announcement of a cabinet meeting next week comes after repeated warnings from senior officials at the Ministry of Health, and against the backdrop of the increase in the number of daily confirmed cases, which this week broke a record for a month and a half. The Ministry of Health published the updated coronavirus data in Israel this morning, which shows that 1,434 coronavirus carriers were diagnosed yesterday out of 64,787 test results received. The positive test rate is 2.31%. 537 coronavirus patients are hospitalized in hospitals across the country. Of those hospitalized, 287 are in serious condition and 101 of them are on ventilators. Since the outbreak of the epidemic in Israel, 2,891 people have died. In Israel, there are currently 27 red localities (26 cities and one town), which account for 24.51% of the total national morbidity, and 28 orange localities (22 cities and 6 towns), which are responsible for 30.41% of the total morbidity in Israel.