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Battling COVID: Weekly Update

Tuesday, March 9, 2021

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Customers enjoy dining at restaurants after they were recently re-opened, in Tel Aviv on March 07, 2021. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

Edelstein: We’ll live with COVID for many years, but the worst is behind us

Health minister says vaccines enable life to go on under virus’s shadow; says wider opening of airport done ‘with a heavy heart’; Netanyahu has said Israel is beyond crisis

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu interviewed on Fox and Friends, March 4, 2021. (Screen capture: Twitter)

Netanyahu on COVID in Israel: It’s behind us

Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital team members wearing safety gear as they work in a coronavirus ward, on February 01, 2021. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

No vaccine? No patients! Hospital relegates unvaccinated staff to paper pushing

By Nathan Jeffay

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) and Health Minister Yuli Edelstein (second right) during a visit at a Leumit Covid-19 vaccination center in Tel Aviv, with the 5 millionth Israeli who received a vaccination. March 08, 2021. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

5 million Israelis vaccinated; PM: All adults will be inoculated by next month

Netanyahu, Health Minister Edelstein on hand as 5 millionth dose given to Janet Lavi-Azulay, 34, who is pregnant; premier says kids to get the shots soon

Medical workers collect samples for coronavirus testing in the northern Israeli city of Safed on February 8, 2021 (David Cohen/Flash90)

Serious cases dip along with transmission rate, indicating outbreak shrinking

A Israeli woman receives a vaccination in Jerusalem, on February 15, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

88% of Israelis aged 50+ have been vaccinated or recovered from COVID-19

Grandparents meets with their grandchildren in their home in Ramat Gan, on February 05, 2021. ( Chen Leopold/Flash90)

Israel said not planning to follow CDC in relaxing mask rules for vaccinated

By ToI Staff and AP

Issue could become crucial ahead of Passover when families gather for Seder meal; US health body allows family meetings without face covering or social distancing

Vanessa Guerra (right), a special education teacher, receives a shot of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine from nurse Kelly Mendoza, in Inglewood, California, March 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Fully vaccinated people can gather without masks, CDC says

Israeli students wearing face masks as they return to school in Aseret, February 11, 2021. (Flash90)

Israel may begin vaccinating children over 12 before US approval

A bus converted into a polling station ahead of the Knesset elections, in a photo released March 8, 2021. (Chaim Levy/Central Elections Committee)

Israel to bus COVID patients to polling stations, may set up booths at airport

Central Elections Committee budget much higher than normal due to challenges posed by pandemic; official laments shortage of thousands of election day employees

A laborer sorts election posters bearing the portrait of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at the Likud party's electoral campaign headquarters in Tel Aviv, on March 2, 2020. (Jack GUEZ / AFP)

Weeks before election, cabinet okays political rallies for vaccinees

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a ceremony in Tel-Hai, northern Israel, February 23, 2021. (David Cohen/Flash90)

Ex-Mossad deputy head slams Netanyahu’s ‘poor management’ on Iran, pandemic

Medical technicians test passengers for COVID-19 at the Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv on March 8, 2021 (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

El Al trials rapid COVID testing for passengers prior to flight

Airline uses quick antigen test that gives results in 15-20 minutes; testing only required of the unvaccinated, mainly children

Israel to allow some foreign nationals into country

By Stuart Winer

WHO advises against mandating vaccine for international travel, for now

By AFP and ToI Staff

Israel opens its doors, largely lifting limits on citizens returning from abroad

Nick Goldstein's grandfather Dave, left, and father, Ian, in a photo from earlier days of the family business. (Courtesy of Goldstein Smoked Salmon/ via JTA)

New York lox company booms during pandemic – by selling British smoked salmon

By Amanda Gordon

Ahmad Atwan, a Palestinian from a town near Hebron, receives the first dose of a coronavirus vaccine by Magen David Adom during an Israeli campaign to immunize Palestinians who work in Israel (Aaron Boxerman/The Times of Israel)

After delays, Israel kicks off vaccination drive for 120,000 Palestinian workers

By Aaron Boxerman

Health teams hope to immunize 1,000 a day at each of 8 vaccination stations, with several more set to open soon; campaign comes as West Bank cases spike

Medical workers evacuate at the coronavirus unit of the Ziv Medical in Safed, on February 4, 2021. (David Cohen/Flash90)

Half of serious COVID cases are Arab Israelis, as community’s vaccinations lag

A health worker administers a dose of the Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine in East Jerusalem on February 3, 2021. (AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP)

Arab Israelis fret over lagging vaccination rates as Ramadan approaches

By Aaron Boxerman

Customers sit at a cafe in Jerusalem on March 7, 2021. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

Israel media review

Open to whatever: What the press is saying about getting back to business

By Joshua Davidovich

As the lockdown lifts, questions revolve around whether the good times can last, or what it will take to reach normal; and female empowerment takes center stage, at least for a day

A restaurant in Tel Aviv, on March 3, 2021. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Restaurants released from lockdown, yet only half expected to reopen

Israelis wear protective facemasks as they sit in a cafe in Tel Aviv, July 8, 2020. (Miriam Alster/FLASH90)

What you need to knowIsrael reopens: All the new rules from March 7

Another victim of the pandemic: Our fundamental rights

This government’s violation of every Israeli’s basic right to leave and enter the country is unparalleled in any other democracy

The mental rollercoaster of being a student shut out of Israel

We understand we’re not citizens, and hence not the country’s top priority for entry, but we’re also not just tourists. It’s affecting our mental health

Theater-goers at the Khan theatre in Jerusalem on February 23, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Analysis

Jessica Steinberg

‘There’s hope’: Culture buffs celebrate return of music, movies and art

Jerusalem movie theater sees sparse turnout for socially distanced screenings, but Green Pass holders and others flock to concerts and museums as events come roaring back

BlogWill we ever truly go back to shul? Do we want to?

By Tammy Jacobowitz

People vaccinated against COVID-19 coronavirus disease and holding a "green pass" (proof of being fully vaccinated) attend a "green pass concert" organised by the Tel Aviv municipality at Bloomfield Stadium in the Israeli Mediterranean coastal city on March 5, 2021. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP)

Tel Aviv hosts its first ‘Green Pass’ concert for the vaccinated

By AFP

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Leon visit at a restaurant in Jerusalem on March 7, 2021. Photo by a Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90

Times of Israel Podcast

Podcast: Daily Briefing Mar. 7 — Israel returns to ‘normalcy,’ chaotically

Tune in Sunday through Thursday to hear ToI editors and reporters quickly catch you up on what’s important today

Boxes containing the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine are prepared to be shipped at the McKesson distribution center in Olive Branch, Mississippi, Dec. 20, 2020. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, Pool)

Israel said renewing vaccine diplomacy, to send extra shots to friendly nations

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu , Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen visit a Gym in Modi'in, March 4, 2021 (Avigail Uzi/POOL)

Visiting Israel, leaders of Denmark, Austria agree on joint vaccine development

By ToI Staff and AFP

The office of the future, as imagined by Rotem Kenan & Maya Schuldenfrei for Check Point, which rounds the shape of the open space (Courtesy)

With work-from-home here to stay, what will become of the office?

By Shoshanna Solomon

An Israeli receives a COVID-19 vaccine shot at a Leumit vaccination center in Tel Aviv, March 8, 2021. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

Of fully vaccinated Israelis, only 0.2% develop COVID-19 symptoms

Out of over 3.3 million two-shot recipients studied, only 907 get sick, and fewer than 1% test positive

Shaare Zedek hospital team members wearing safety gear as they work in the coronavirus ward of Shaare Zedek hospital in Jerusalem on February 3, 2021, during a 3rd nationawide full lockdown, in an effort to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Less than 3% of serious COVID cases are fully vaccinated, proving effectiveness

An attendee shows off a "green pass" (proof of being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 coronavirus disease) upon arrival at Bloomfield Stadium in Tel Aviv, on March 5, 2021, before attending a "green pass concert" for the vaccinated, organized by the Tel Aviv municipality. (Jack Guez/AFP)

Full vaccine effect only kicks in 15 days after second dose, Israeli HMO says

By Nathan Jeffay

Zooming in to reciting Kaddish, the mourners' prayer, at home. (Photo montage, Gil Be'eri)

US Jews in mourning are finding unexpected comfort in virtual minyans

More Headlines

Passengers arriving on a flight from Frankfurt take part in the pilot program of wearing electronic bracelets upon arrival in Israel, on March 01, 2021. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

Quarantine hotels to close as ministers advance electronic bracelet bill

Ziv hospital team members wearing safety gear as they work on a coronavirus ward on February 04, 2021. (David Cohen/Flash90)

Tweaked Israeli sewage test can check spread of coronavirus variants

By Nathan Jeffay

In this photo provided by the official Facebook page of the Syrian Presidency, Syrian President Bashar Assad, right, and first lady Asma Assad, center right, speak during a visit to the Producers exhibition, in Damascus, Syria, Nov. 4, 2020 (Syrian Presidency Facebook page via AP)

Syrian dictator Assad and first lady test positive for COVID

By Agencies and ToI Staff

Yevgenia Bogatov (left) and Lazar Roif during their wedding ceremony at Rambam Medical Center (courtesy of Rambam Medical Center)

Coronavirus unitJoined by pandemic heartache, COVID nurses hold hospital wedding

By Nathan Jeffay

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Chairman of the Budget Committee, speaks during a US Senate Budget Committee hearing regarding wages at large corporations on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. (Stefani Reynolds/The New York Times via AP, Pool)

Social--istBernie Sanders: We must end pandemic so young people can date again

Illustrative -- Healthcare workers take test samples in a drive-thru complex at the Golani Interchange, March 4, 2021 (David Cohen/Flash90)

Officials stumped by source of NY variant in Israel; 1st cases uncooperative

Anne Frank (Wikimedia Commons via JTA)

Canadian newspaper deletes op-ed comparing COVID lockdown to Anne Frank’s ordeal

A Texas mask on March 3, 2021 in Austin, Texas. (Montinique Monroe/Getty Images via JTA)

Dallas Jewish Conservatives plan ‘mask-burning’ party to mark end of mandate

By Andrew Lapin

Immigrants from Brazil and Argentina arrive in Israel, March 1, 2021. (Avishag Shar Yashuv/IFCJ via JTA)

South American immigrants arrive in Israel after 40 days in limbo

By Marcus M. Gilban

Hundreds of men crowded into a study hall for the funeral of Rabbi Yechezkel Roth on March 7, 2021. (Screenshot from BoroPark24 via JTA)

Hundreds pack Brooklyn study hall and street for Hasidic rabbi’s funeral

Magen David Adom workers wear protective clothing outside the coronavirus unit at Hadassah Ein Karem hospital in Jerusalem, on October 19, 2020. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

Hadassah hospital said to furlough 80 workers who haven’t taken COVID shots

By ToI Staff and Nathan Jeffay

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla speaks at a Pfizer manufacturing site, February 19, 2021, in Portage, Michigan. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Pfizer CEO postponed Israel visit because he isn’t fully vaccinated — report

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February	March 2021					April
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