Is Corona back in Istrael? Coefficient of infection is higher than 1: 3,731 have been infected

The number of verified people reached a peak of a month and a half yesterday, the Corona also made a comeback in the Knesset - and now the Ministry of Health is re-launching the information campaign and may postpone the abolition of isolation for verified people. Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz, who himself was positive about the virus yesterday, convened a discussion with senior officials of his ministry this afternoon (Tuesday) following the increase in morbidity, and it was finally decided that alongside the renewal of the information campaign, the elderly population and people at risk should wear a closed space.
The coefficient of infection rate is higher than 1 in the last few days, which indicates a trend of the spread of the plague. The coefficient, which is based on verified data ten days back, passed 1 on May 20, and is currently 1.1. At the same time, the spread trend is slow, does not lead to a load on the hospital system, and does not harm the economy. See if it continues to become a real trend or falls back.
The main indicator looked at in the health care system is the number of patients hospitalized in critical condition, but it has also been on the rise recently. This morning there were 103 seriously ill patients when three days ago there were 83. Despite this, the director of the corona department at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital, Prof. Dror Mevorach, said that he is not currently worried about the increase in seriously ill patients as these are small numbers. "At Hadassah we have recently gone up to nine seriously ill and gone back down to five," he said.
Due to the increase in the verified rate, the abolition of isolation for the verified may be postponed, although corona projector Prof. Salman Zarqa estimated last week that this abolition will be announced during the current month. Following the same increase in corona morbidity, the Ministry of Health intends to examine in the coming days whether the level of immunity in the population has decreased, and as a result, they have decided to bring forward the discussion on the fifth vaccine.
"We recommend exercising discretion and wearing a mask when necessary, especially indoors, in public transportation, and in meetings with adults and risk groups," the health ministry said. "For at-risk populations, we recommend continuing to wear a mask in enclosed spaces, even if it is not mandatory."
Along with Minister Horowitz, MKs Gilad Karib, Alon Tal, and Orit Struck and Shas chairman Aryeh Deri were also diagnosed as positive for Corona. This afternoon, Minister of Internal Security Amar Bar-Lev was added to the lengthening list.
According to the Ministry of Health, the number of verified yesterday reached a peak of a month and a half - 3,731 verified, the largest number since April 25. The positive rate in PCR and institutional antigen in the last two days was the highest in two months.
Following the increase in morbidity, the Ministry of Health has repeatedly recommended wearing a mask for those who come into contact with at-risk populations and the elderly. This is after Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz earlier convened a discussion with senior officials of his ministry on the issue and it was also decided to resume the information campaign regarding the fight against the plague. The epidemic treatment team at the office will convene tomorrow to discuss, among other things, the administration of the fifth vaccine against Corona, but no decision is expected.
A senior health ministry official said it was unclear at this time if there was indeed cause for concern. He said, "We are constantly seeing volatility in verified numbers and difficult patient numbers. As the rise becomes something more consistent, we will have to see it as a hump or a wave, but now it is too early to talk about a wave." The senior added that the daily number of diagnoses and the coefficient of infection are affected by the voluntary testing policy, but explained that the number of severe patients is "indeed a more sensitive measure, and its increase is more disturbing.
The infection rate is higher than 1 in the last few days, which indicates a trend of spread of the plague. The coefficient, which is based on verified data ten days back, passed 1 on May 20, and is currently 1.1. At the same time, the spread trend is slow, does not lead to a load on the hospital system and does not harm the economy. See if it continues to become a real trend or falls back.
The main indicator looked at in the health care system is the number of patients hospitalized in critical condition, but it has also been on the rise recently. This morning there were 103 seriously ill patients when three days ago there were 83. Despite this, the director of the corona department at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital, Prof. Dror Mevorach, said that he is not currently worried about the increase in seriously ill patients as these are small numbers. "At Hadassah, we have recently gone up to nine seriously ill and gone back down to five," he said.
Prof. Mevorach added that in his opinion the number of those diagnosed should have dropped by 10% at this stage, due to the cessation of inspections at Ben Gurion Airport of those returning from abroad more than two weeks ago. "Instead there is a small increase, it reminds me of the increase in variant BA.2 which was in April but did not really develop," he said. According to Mevorach, the current increase is probably due to the spread of variants BA.4 and BA.5, where "previous illness and vaccines protect less than infection with them." These variants are a sub-variant of the omicron, which led to widespread morbidity last winter.
In addition to the possibility of the spread of new variants, in recent weeks the obligation to wear masks on flights and the obligation of isolation for family members and attendants of verified patients have been abolished, which may affect morbidity. The cancellation of tests at Ben Gurion Airport also meant that some of the diseases were not detected, and it is possible that those infected continue to spread the virus. That reliance on them requires a consistent and sharp trend to point to real change.
More than four million Israelis are officially Corona recoverers, more than half of them have been infected by the omicron wave, and it is estimated that there are many others who have not been diagnosed. Many recoverers have been vaccinated against the virus and receive relatively high protection against serious illness. Due to these data, the Ministry of Health is confident that as long as a variant with different capabilities and characteristics does not appear than those that characterized the variants that were in Israel, there is a very low risk of a significant new outbreak.