Health Minister Yuli Edelstein told Kan News on Tuesday that Israel is on the way to new restrictions. “We’re going to be forced to close businesses according to the data we’re seeing now,” Edelstein said, referring to the 2,279 new virus cases confirmed on Tuesday, the first time that over 2,000 daily cases have been recorded since October 14.

There are currently 18,651 active virus cases, with 344 seriously ill patients, of whom 130 are ventilated.

Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis, head of public health at the Health Ministry told Ynet on Tuesday that if Israel doesn’t tighten coronavirus restrictions now, it will lead to a “much longer” third lockdown.

“If we wait too long, we’ll ultimately pay a high price from a health and economic perspective,” she said. “We’ll have a much longer lockdown and we’ll be required to take actions such as closing schools and imposing traffic restrictions.”

Health Ministry Deputy Director-General Prof.Itamar Grotto also told Army Radio on Tuesday that Israel is heading toward a third lockdown. “It will take two to three months until we see the impact of the vaccines. We can’t afford to become complacent,” he said.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)