Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said Tuesday that Israel is in the grips of a "third coronavirus infection wave" and that there is no other choice but to go into another nationwide lockdown.
"We have missed the train with tightened restraint and there is no escape from a lockdown," he said on a visit to an assisted living facility that was rolling out its vaccination program for tenants.
"It will take between two and three months for the vaccine [program] to take effect," Edelstein maintained. "We are in a critical situation. We wasted precious time, and the state of infections means we have no choice but to go into lockdown."
Earlier Tuesday, Health Ministry Director-General Prof. Hezi Levi told Ynet that he believed the government will reconvene in the coming days to impose broader restrictions.
"Our reaction [to the rise in infections] should be total restrictions," he said. "I am not sure that partial restrictions will help anymore. We have to talk about a new lockdown."
The Health Ministry on Tuesday said 3,594 cases of coronavirus were confirmed in the past 24 hours, the highest such figure in months.
The ministry said that 86,857 tests had been conducted on Monday, putting the contagion rate at 4.2%.
At least 472 patients were in serious condition, 119 of whom were on ventilators. Israel's COVID-19 death toll stood at 3,111.
On Monday, the so-called Coronavirus Cabinet, which leads the government's response to the pandemic, approved a series of new restrictions in an effort to stave off the spread of the pathogen.
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Underground parking lot at Haifa's Rambam Health Care Campus converted into intensive care unit
(Photo: Reuters)
Among the measures approved by the government is mandatory isolation for Israelis arriving from abroad in state-run coronavirus hotels for 14 days, or 10 days if the returnee undergoes two coronavirus tests and both return negative.
The regulations will take effect Wednesday at 10 pm and will stay in place for at least 10 days.
Travelers from countries that did not require mandatory isolation prior to the cabinet decision will be exempt from the rule as long as they land in Israel by December 26.