In Israel, Virus Stats Decline – as Do Numbers for Netanyahu

As Israel closes in on three weeks of total lockdown, coronavirus infection figures on Wednesday seemed to be turning a corner. For the third day in a row, both the number of new cases (4,700) and the positivity rate in tests (10.5%) were in decline although health officials warned that a low volume of testing might have been a contributing factor. There are still close to 900 patients in critical condition. While health figures offer a source of optimism, a new opinion poll posed a new headache for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. On Tuesday, a Channel 12 news poll showed his Likud party continuing a downward spiral, netting just 26 parliamentary seats if elections were held now as opposed to 40 indicated by polls conducted four months ago. The Yamina party headed by Netanyahu’s right-wing rival, Naftali Bennett, soared to 23 seats, while the centrist Blue and White, currently in a unity government with the Likud, mustered just nine seats.