Israel's COVID numbers continue their rise amid fears of resurgent pandemic

Thursday saw nearly 7,000 new daily cases, but serious cases are in decline, with only 291 on Friday

The coronavirus pandemic continued its concerning resurgence in Israel on Friday, with the transmission rate up to 0.97, and nearly 7,000 new cases diagnosed on Thursday.

The transmission rate represents the number of people each confirmed patient infects on average. Any number over 1 signifies that the pandemic is growing.

Daily cases have also been ticking constantly upwards in recent days.

The total number of active cases in the country stood at 40,242. The number of serious cases continued to decline, however, and stood on Friday at 291. The death toll was at 10,417.

It is not currently known what is causing the resurgence of the disease, and whether it is a result of the Omicron subvariants BA.1 and BA.2.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced that Israel will keep its indoor mask mandate in place for at least another month. Most of the other COVID-related public health orders have been rolled back.

During a meeting with health officials, Bennett and Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz were presented with the latest figures in Israel as well as from countries around the world, with particular focus placed on China, which has seen a significant spike in cases in recent weeks, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.

Authorities will conduct an inventory check of vaccines and drugs “ahead of the possibility of a serious coronavirus strain, should one be found,” according to the PMO statement. They will also accelerate the distribution of air filters for classrooms and maintain the “Magen Avot” program aimed at protecting nursing homes and other at-risk populations.

Bennett’s cautious approach may partly be a result of upcoming Jewish holidays that feature large gatherings and have led to mass infections in the past.

Wednesday night saw the start of the Purim holiday, often celebrated with large parties and celebrations. A month later is Passover, which is generally observed with extended family gatherings. Two years ago, Passover was celebrated under a strict lockdown, with families ordered to not host any relatives from outside their household.

BA.2 has been documented to have re-infected some people after an initial case of Omicron. There’s mixed research on whether it causes more severe disease than Omicron, but vaccines appear just as effective against it.