Second wave of COVID-19 hits Israel

Health Minister Yuli Edelstein announces second wave of coronavirus and new measures against the spread of the infection.

A second wave of coronavirus infections has hit Israel, the health minister Yuli Edelstein announced on Sunday. At a press conference he said that the second wave of the pandemic will take new measures.

“We are at the beginning of a second wave of COVID-19. We have to introduce new restrictions. The restrictions will cover meetings, wedding ceremonies and Jewish worship places,” says Edelstein.

Official numbers count one dead person and 218 new infections in the last 24 hours.

On Thursday 668 new cases were reported in 24 hours, which constitutes the highest number since April 3, when 819 people were diagnosed with COVID-19.

So far, 23,755 infections have been reported by the Israeli authorities, with 318 deaths and 17,074 recoveries.

More than 500,000 people worldwide have died so far in connection with the coronavirus, according to the John Hopkins University in Baltimore, with about 10 million confirmed cases. About half of these cases have been recovered.

Damaris (BA in Media Communications and MA in Israel Studies) lives in Jerusalem and writes as an independent journalist.