The Health Ministry reported 207 new confirmed coronavirus cases Friday morning, taking the toll over the past 24 hours to 349. It was the first time over 300 cases were diagnosed in a single day since late April.
Another person died of the virus overnight, putting the death toll at 304.
The latest numbers took the total number of cases since the start of the pandemic to 20,243, of which 4,372 are active cases. Forty people were seriously ill, 28 of them on ventilators, while 44 were in moderate condition. The rest had only mild symptoms.
The ministry said 16,369 tests had been administered Thursday.
A spike in cases was also reported in the West Bank, with 87 cases over the past two days — mostly in Hebron but also in the Nablus and Jerusalem regions.
Palestinian officials said the total number of cases stood at 795, of which 220 are active. Thirty-four people have died. Officials said new restrictions had been placed upon Hebron. They also expressed concern over the fact that the sources of the new infections are unclear.
Channel 13 news reported that the halt in coordination between Israel and the Palestinian Authority over Jerusalem’s annexation plans in the West Bank has harmed the PA’s ability to track down the origins of cases and receive aid.
Israel has seen a recent rise in coronavirus cases as it rolled back the lockdown measures it had begun in mid-March, which curbed the initial outbreak but also brought the economy to an almost total standstill. The government has repeatedly warned the public to continue to adhere to social distancing and hygiene orders amid concerns that a slacking of attitudes is allowing the spread of the virus to pick up pace anew.
Leaders have indicated they are averse to a new national lockdown but that they will seek local closures on any hotspots that emerge.
On Thursday government ministers voted to place parts of two southern Bedouin towns under partial lockdown. The week-long closures of two neighborhoods in Rahat and one in Arara (Negev) appeared to be the first such orders given since Israel began to gradually pull back restrictions in early May.
Both Rahat and Arara, two of the largest Bedouin cities in the northern Negev, have seen a rise in the number of cases in recent days. Ministers decided not to impose a lockdown on neighborhoods in Jaffa that have also seen climbing infection numbers.
As of 8 a.m Friday morning, residents under lockdown in Arara and Rahat are limited to their homes, only allowed to leave to travel to work within their respective cities.
In a statement, the Health Ministry said increased information of social distancing guidelines, informational campaigns and efforts to quarantine sick individuals had proven insufficient in the neighborhoods.
In Jaffa, which has seen a relative drop in recent days after an initial spike in cases, schools will be closed and gatherings limited to 10 people in the Ajami, Tsahala and Shikunei Hisachon neighborhoods.
Tel Aviv-Jaffa has seen some of the highest infection numbers during the second wave of the virus as case numbers have steadily climbed since the start of the month.
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On Thursday Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there won’t be any further easing of coronavirus restrictions until the recent spike in infections is flattened, and warned that the government will resort to reapplying lockdowns to achieve that goal.
“There is no doubt that we need to stop the disease,” Netanyahu said at a ceremony to install the new director-general at the Health Ministry. “The disease is coming back and we have, for the time being, finished with opening up more of the economy.
“There is no substitute for changing the public’s habits,” he added. “If that doesn’t happen, we will be forced to take more aggressive measures,” he said.
The comments came a day after ministers approved the resumption of train operations next week and the limited reopening of cultural venues, which could be permitted to open as soon as the weekend.
Trains and cultural events are among the last major aspects of local daily life that have remained closed as the lockdown has lifted.
Trains have been halted for three months and the date for resuming service has been postponed several times. They are now set to begin running again on Monday.
TIMES OF ISRAEL
