Netanyahu: "No blockade on Israel even after the general election"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed confidence that there will be no lockdown measures to prevent the spread of infection again after the general election on the 23rd (local time).

According to the Jerusalem Post on the 21st, the Israeli government announced that the number of new confirmed cases the previous day was 285. Although the total number of tests decreased due to the weekend, there is a clear downward trend.

The daily new confirmed cases in Israel once exceeded 10,000 in mid-January, and the previous weekend (13th) recorded 773 cases. The positive rate compared to the total number of tests dropped to 1.7%, and the infection reproduction number was recorded at 0.65. The number of severe patients also fell to 561.

Since Israel imported the Pfizer vaccine and began vaccinations on December 19 last year, about 5.16 million people have received the first dose, accounting for 55.4% of the total population (approximately 9.3 million). The second dose recipients number about 4.52 million, corresponding to 48.6% of the population.

Trusting the results of the rapid vaccination campaign and having gradually eased lockdowns three times so far, Israel implemented the fourth lockdown easing measures starting today.

Even unvaccinated people who test positive through on-site rapid tests can now use hotels, event halls, and religious facilities. Additionally, the gathering limit for large-scale sports and cultural events has increased to 3,000 indoors and 5,000 outdoors.

Furthermore, Israel lifted all passenger flight restrictions imposed to block the inflow of variant viruses starting today.

According to Bloomberg News, Prime Minister Netanyahu appeared on military radio on the same day and expressed confidence that there will be no lockdown measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the future. He said, "People say that lockdown measures will be taken again after the general election. But no. There is no need. Other countries impose lockdowns because they do not have vaccines."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.