Major Hanukkah virus restrictions not on table — senior official

Health officials are not planning on attempting to impose a lockdown over the winter holidays, Health Ministry Public Health Director Sharon Alroy Preis says at a press conference.

“We’re on the verge of restrained steps — right now every sick person is infecting more than one other. It’s possible that limited measures can slow the advance of the disease, and we won’t need significant steps,” she says.

Earlier in the day, Deputy Health Minister Yoav Kisch said the ministry would push for a nightly curfew over the holidays.

Alroy Preis also says that the main infection zones are in the Arab community, but they are seeing high numbers in the general population as well.

And she advises against relying on a vaccine getting here anytime soon.

“We’ll likely need to get through the winter with most Israelis not vaccinated,” she says.