Israel Reports Lowest Number of New Coronavirus Cases in 6 Weeks

As the Israeli government moves to re-open the economy and ease restrictions on movement, health authorities on Monday reported the country’s lowest increase in coronavirus cases during any 24-hour period since March 20. Officials confirmed 68 new cases of COVID-19 between Sunday and Monday morning, raising the total number of diagnoses in Israel to nearly 15,500, but also raising hope that the spread of the contagion may be under control. The Health Ministry added that 129 people were in critical condition, with three-quarters of them being sustained by ventilators. Some 6,700 Israelis have recovered after contracting the virus, whereas 202 have died. The relatively positive news came as many small businesses throughout the country were on Sunday permitted to resume operations, and as Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Monday was slated to meet with officials from the Education Ministry to discuss the gradual re-opening of elementary schools, perhaps as early as next week. Netanyahu has warned, however, that restrictive measures could be reinstated if the number of new daily cases surpasses 300; if more than 300 people are concurrently deemed seriously ill; or if there is a doubling of the nationwide number of infections over a period of 10 days or less. Presently, cases are doubling around every 20 days.