Israeli Health Official: We Have ‘Pretty Much’ Stopped Spread of Coronavirus

The second in command at Israel’s Health Ministry has expressed optimism that authorities have “pretty much succeeded in the stage of stopping the spread” of coronavirus. The statement comes as the rate of new cases appears to be stabilizing at a few hundred per day. On Monday morning, authorities raised the country’s confirmed number of diagnoses to more than 11,000, with the death toll hitting 110. Some 180 people remain in critical condition, with approximately three-quarters of them being sustained by ventilators. Currently, the government is focusing on curbing and containing the contagion in various “hot spots,” including several neighborhoods in Jerusalem as well as Bnei Brak, a predominantly ultra-Orthodox suburb of Tel Aviv that has been on full lockdown for nearly two weeks. According to reports, the government is simultaneously planning an exit strategy that would allow segments of the economy to slowly re-open. About 1 million Israelis lost their job in March, leading to a jump in the unemployment rate from 4% at the beginning of the outbreak to just under 26%.