Even though Israel has a successful vaccination campaign and recently launched the first widely available booster shot, daily coronavirus infections are at an all-time high in Israel.
Spread of the virus was driven by an increase in the delta variant, even among those who have been vaccinated. This has prompted talk of crackdowns against gatherings that take place before the holiest days on the Jewish calendar.
On Monday, 9,831 cases were reported by the government, which is the highest single-day number since Jan. 18, when 10118 cases were discovered, Israel’s record for pandemics.
Between, Israel led one the fastest vaccination drives in the world that helped turn the tide against the pandemic. The start of what was to be an exciting summer of tourism and concerts, with a low of 12 new cases on May 22, kicked off what was to become a go-go season of tourists and crowds returning to Israel’s outdoor markets and restaurants.
“Who is coming to Israel this Summer?” “Yes!” called Tourist Israel, a popular website for travel, on Twitter June 21. It shared a watermelon popsicle with a photo of Tel Aviv’s seaside skyline.
It turns out that not many tourists are involved. On the same day, the government recorded 125 new cases. This is more than twice the 49-day count. It’s a snapshot of the spike which has continued.
Soon after the government delayed the Aug. 1 deadline for opening the country to foreign tourists, it was a devastating blow to an industry that had suffered a drop of more than 80% in visitors since the pandemic. Officials started to warn about the possible return to school as well as the possibility of new restrictions for the Jewish High Holidays, which begin in September.
Mandatory masks or green passports are required for public indoor spaces. These were removed in May after infections peaked.
Over 5.9 million of Israel’s 9.3 million inhabitants have had at least one dose of vaccine. Data from the government show that the shots can help prevent severe illness. Unvaccinated people are more likely to be in serious conditions than those who have been hospitalized. Morbidity is still lower than it was at Israel’s peak.
Officials have cited evidence to show that vaccines are less effective as time goes by.
One specialist said that the surge in infections is not unexpected, but that human behavior was a key factor.
Manfred Green, an epidemiologist at the University of Haifa’s School of Public Health, stated that “when the rates went very low, we didn’t reach herd immunity.” “But, we behaved as though we had achieved herd immunity.”
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Sunday that there is a rise of infections in a segment of the population. This could be an unexpected group: Israelis aged between 40 and 60 who were given two shots at the start of the year but not boosters.
Bennett explained to his Cabinet that this is because they believe they are safe. They don’t understand that the second dose of vaccine erodes over time and is not effective against the delta strain. Therefore, they need to be given the third dose as soon as possible.
Israel started offering its citizens booster shots late last month. Starting with the oldest citizens, this effort expanded to include all people over 30 years old, as well as select health care workers and teachers.
According to the Health Ministry, almost 1.6 million people have had the third shot. Early signs suggest that the booster is working.
Ran Balicer is an epidemiologist and heads the Clalit Research Institute. It is associated with the country’s biggest health insurer. He wrote on Tuesday that “the rise of serious cases has not been fully halted” but that there was “without doubt a change in how we defend the vaccinated because of the booster.”
Despite the World Health Organization’s call for rich countries like Israel to give their vaccines to poor countries that have not yet inoculated, third jabs are still being sought. Many other countries, such as the United States, Hungary, Europe, and the Middle East, offer or plan to offer COVID-19 booster shot.
Israel’s slowness to share vaccines has been criticized throughout the pandemic.
It has vaccinated its Arab population, which includes Palestinians living in Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem. It has shared very limited supplies with West Bank.
The Palestinians retracted from an earlier summer agreement to receive vaccines from Israel. They claimed that the medicine was too close to expiring. On Monday, the U.S. government donated 500,000 Moderna vaccines to the Palestinians.
Bennett offered the incentive to hold off on any new restrictions if people adhere to safety measures. He said that this would allow him to celebrate the holidays freely with his family.
Amir Halevi is the director general of Israel’s Tourism Ministry. He said that he understood the necessity for restrictions. He said that taking a break would cause more problems for the struggling industry.
He said, “After the vaccinations we (had) wonderful momentum [to bring back tourists to Israel].” He said that operators “will survive because they are optimistic in this industry.”
To help the industry withstand this volatility, he said that the government is currently promoting domestic tourism. He said that the pandemic caused the crash after a record-breaking 2019 when almost 4.6 million tourists visited the country.
Tourist Israel has a blog that asks “When will Israel travel resume?”. It promises: “We have your back with updates, inspiration to dream up adventures to follow!”
This post was updated earlier in the week to reflect the grim reality.
It states that the date for Israel’s reopening to individual tourists has been delayed to an unknown date. “We don’t recommend booking until we know the travel regulations.”
