The number of COVID-19 patients in serious condition in Israel reached 140 Friday, making an almost 70-percent increase since last week, with experts cautioning that the present situation was "not stable."
As specified in The Times of Israel, urging lawmakers to actively encourage herd immunity among those who are vulnerable, Professor Cyrille Cohen, an immune system expert said "It is an unpredictable situation."
While Israel has seen increasing numbers of infections for a few weeks, an increase in severely ill patients marks a real apprehension as the nation addresses the spread of the new BA.5 variant with experts cautioning that hospitals may have to reopen their COVID-19 wards. The number increased from 85 severely ill patients on Friday last week.
Over 7.300 people tested positive in Israel for the Virus late last week, the Health Ministry reported. As of Friday, the reproduction number stood at 1.31. The figure measures the number of people each coronavirus carrier is infecting on average, with any number higher than one which means the spread of the virus is rising.
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A medical worker tends to a patient in the COVID-19 ward of Barzilai Medical Center in Israel's southern city of Ashkelon, on February 22, 2022.
A New Wave of the Virus?
The number started rising above one in the middle of May, having stayed lower than the threshold for almost two months.
The death toll stood at a little over 10,800, which include six deaths over the past week. e don't go and get tested, and that should also be taken into account," he said.
The expert explained that determining the policy is not the number of confirmed COVID-19 patients but the condition of severely ill individuals.
He also said that there's a need to understand if these people are experiencing in a more severe manner and if they need to prepare for the reopening of COVID wards this summer.
Despite the warning, Cohen said it is too early to know the severity of the strain that mutated from Omicron, identified as BA.5, and whether or not it will evolve into a new wave.
The Omicron BA.5 Variant
The BA.5 variant, Cohen also explained, currently accounts for approximately 50 percent of patients. The variant caused comparatively mild disease among young people, although they're seeing an increase in hospitalizations.
He elaborated that BA.5, which is detailed in a Verywell Health report, was replacing Omicron as the prevalent variant and that it will continue to gain ground. Israel has scrapped its indoor mark requirement a couple of months ago as infection numbers declined sharply. Outdoor masks have not been a requirement Since April 2021, a Reuters report specified.
According to coronavirus Czar Pro. Salma Zarka, Israelis may soon be able to be officially recognized as COVID-19 patients based only on a home test under certain circumstances, while at the same time the Health Ministry was working on the expansion of test facilities.
Professor Zarka said on Wednesday that the new BA.5 variant is rapidly gaining traction and is more resistant to vaccines compared to the previous strains.
Related information about COVID-19 in Israel is shown on DW News's YouTube video below:
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