JOL

Hezi Levy, director-general of Israel’s Health Ministry, said on Thursday that if the number of serious cases rises to 600-to-700, serious restrictions will be considered. Trending numbers suggest Israel is headed in that direction.

The number of serious cases stands at 427, up from 417 yesterday. It’s the highest number since the pandemic began. The number of confirmed cases in the last 24 hours is the highest its been since July 24 – 1,888.

Numbers have been rising over the last few days. The increasing number of cases may be a result of festivities connected to a Muslim holiday. Five of the top seven clusters of high corona incidence listed by the Health Ministry on Tuesday are Arab communities.

Corona czar Ronni Gamzu complained about Arab-Israelis during the holiday, saying they weren’t following health guidelines.

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Israel has found that religious holidays result in an increase in the spread of the disease if there are no restrictions in place. The IDF intelligence branch recently warned that the Jewish holidays next month, marked by communal prayer and family gatherings, will similarly lead to a rise in corona cases.