Coronavirus Live: Israel Approves Digital Surveillance for All Quarantined Arrivals

Months into its mass coronavirus vaccination campaign, Israel sees a drop in COVID infections and in the number of serious cases. Israel has reopened commerce and culture for vaccinated people, but some restrictions remain on inbound and outbound flights. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, 6,048 Israelis have died of the virus.

Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip have received 30,000 doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine, and 2,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine donated by Israel. A total of 1,993 people have died of COVID in the West Bank, while 568 have died in Gaza.

>> Israel vaccinated over 50,000 Palestinians with Israeli work permits against COVID

>> Israel's Education Ministry blocks school principals' access to COVID database

>> How many have already been vaccinated

LIVE UPDATES

11:45 A.M. Israel approves digital surveillance of all arrivals during quarantine

The Israeli Knesset passed a bill Wednesday allowing digital surveillance of all arrivals to Israel who are mandated to enter coronavirus quarantine. 

Arrivals to Israel who are sent to quarantine in their homes will be equipped with digital tracking bracelets or other digital tracking means, including through cell phones.

The law limits the use of the surveillance data to purposes of enforcement alone and the data can be saved for up to a month. Anyone who refuses the digital surveillance will be required to enter a state-run quarantine facility.

Children under the age of 14 will be exempt, as well as those who receive special permission from the exemptions committee. (Jonathan Lis)

11:30 A.M. Palestinians won't use AstraZeneca until WHO approval, Health Minister says

The Palestinian Authority's Health Minister Dr. Mai al-Kaila, said on Wednesday that they will await World Health Organization approval before using their incoming doses of AstraZeneca vaccines. 

The health ministry, al-Kalia told Palestinian radio, will instead utilize the Pfizer vaccine and the Russian Sputnik V jabs to finish inoculating the medical staff. They will those move onto those with chronic diseases.  

As coronavirus continues to ravage the West Bank, the health minister also noted that hospital occupancy is at 115 percent in Ramallah, Al-Bireh and Jericho, while 44 percent of patients in intensive care units are on ventilators. 

Several countries are deliberating whether to press ahead with using the AstraZeneca shot, or whether to suspend their inoculations based on reports of dangerous blood clots in a few recipients. A European regulator said on Tuesday there was “no indication” the shot was responsible for the phenomenon, but the WHO has not yet weighed in. (Jack Khoury)

10:22 A.M. 60,000 COVAX vaccines en route to Palestinians

60,000 COVAX vaccines earmarked for the Palestinian Authority arrived in Ben-Gurion International Airport on Wednesday morning.

The Pfizer and AstraZeneca jabs are en route to the Beitunia crossing in the West Bank, facilitated by the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT).

Around 20,000 of the shipment will be transferred to Gaza later on Wednesday.

The World Health Organization set up COVAX along with the GAVI vaccine alliance to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccinations globally. (Jack Khoury)

9:35 A.M. With nearly half of population fully vaxxed, cases plummet

Data released by the Israeli Army on Wednesday showed daily COVID-19 cases, infection rate and rate of positive tests continuing to decline, as the number of fully vaccinated Israelis approaches half the population.

According to the data, the R-number, which reflects the average number of people each coronavirus patient infects and therefore how fast the virus is spreading, dropped to 0.7.

The data also revealed that only 2.1 percent of coronavirus tests returned positive in the past day, the lowest figure in months.

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The data also revealed a drop in the number of actively ill Israelis, the number of Israelis in serious condition and the number of patients that required hospitalization. 

On Tuesday, half of all new cases represented those aged 19 and under, although very few people from the age bracket became seriously ill. 

As of Wednesday morning, 47 percent of Israelis have received both doses of the vaccine, with 55 percent receiving at least one dose.(Haaretz)

TUESDAY

12:51 P.M. Israel has paid over $787 million to secure vaccines, data shows  

Israel has so far spent $787,766,720 (2.6 billion shekels) in the deals it reached with various pharmaceuticals to purchase vaccines against the coronavirus, according to data revealed on Tuesday in a Knesset's Finance Committee meeting.

This amount was used to buy vaccines from U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, Moderna Inc. and AstraZeneca, though Israel is not administering the latter's vaccines at the moment.

It remains unknown whether Israel bought Russia's Sputnik V vaccine.  

Health Ministry official Matan Mor estimated that Israel would invest an additional amount of 2.5 billion shekels to buy more vaccines. (Hagai Amit)

>> Click here to read the full report

8:00 A.M. Israel reopens skies ahead of election

Israel has reopened its skies to flights from all locations and to all destinations beginning on Tuesday, following a decision by the government cabinet on Sunday night to remove some restrictions on incoming flights that would allow Israelis stuck abroad to return to the country ahead of the election next Tuesday.

Ministers, however, decided to keep the 3,000-person cap on daily arrivals. In its decision, the cabinet emphasized that the Health Ministry has the authority to cancel flights that could potentially endanger public health. (Judy Maltz and Ido Efrati)

>> Read the full report here

MONDAY

8:09 P.M. Legislation mandating workers get vaccinated stalls

The passing of a bill that would allow obligating employees to get vaccinated against the coronavirus or undergo an occasional COVID test has stalled for two weeks due to opposition from the education and finance ministries.  

Health Minister Yuli Edelstein announced a month ago that he plans to enshrine this into law, but after the ministries expressed their opposition and legal challenges raised by the attorney general, there were no further attempts to advance the bill.

The bill would obligate employers, including the state, to condition the arrival of an employee to the workplace on receiving a vaccine or presenting a negative test for the coronavirus. The bill would also apply to the Education Ministry and therefore to teaching staffs as well. (Netael Bandel)

4:50 P.M. 1,886 Israelis remain stuck abroad, state tells high court

Israel told the High Court Monday that 1,886 citizens are still stuck abroad due to COVID restrictions, after the High Court ordered that they perform a survey to determine how many people were still unable to return to Israel. 

The numbers were broken down by country, with the largest number of citizens stuck abroad in Russia, Germany, Italy and the U.S. respectively. 

Israel announced earlier on Sunday that it will reopen its skies to flights from all locations and to all destinations, removing some restriction on incoming flights.

Ministers, however, decided to keep the 3,000-cap on daily arrivals. The amended regulations will come into effect on Tuesday. 

In response, the head of the legal department for the Movement for Quality Government, Adv. Tomer Naor, called for the quotas to be scrapped altogether. 

“We are only a week before the election. It is imperative to allow Israelis who want to return home the opportunity to do so, and to exercise their most basic democratic right,” he said. (Netael Bandel)

For previous updates click here