Officials in Israel predicted that one in four Israelis would contract Covid-19 within two weeks, signaling that the country is moving toward herd immunity against the infectious disease.
The Jerusalem Post reported that Health Ministry director-general Nachman Ash believes that herd immunity against Covid-19 can be achieved in the country, although at the cost of many infections.
As Ash said to 103FM Radio on Sunday, "Herd immunity means very many infections. If the numbers are high, herd immunity can be achieved.".
The number of Coronavirus cases in Israel has risen to unprecedented levels, and Prime Minister Naftali Bennett warned, "The storm is coming."
According to Health Ministry data, almost 4% of tests on December 31 returned a positive result. That's three times more than the previous week, the ministry said.
One in four Israelis will be infected with Covid-19 by the end of next week, predicts Eran Segal, a professor at the Weizmann Institute of Science who advises the government.
A total of nearly 27,000 new cases have been found in the past seven days, a 200 percent increase compared with the previous week, according to Health Ministry data released on January 1.
The number of seriously ill patients also rose. As of Sunday, there were 110. For most of the past two weeks, the figure has fluctuated between 80 and 90. On Saturday night, the figure was 110.
Bennett said during the opening of the weekly cabinet meeting: "We are already feeling the increase in infection levels and we are likely to see it double and double again."
According to him, in addition to the expected workload on hospitals, there is the issue that tens of thousands of new cases each day will be very difficult to handle logistically.
Nearly 40 percent of the new virus carriers identified in the past had received a booster shot. Additionally, the country recently distributed a fourth booster shot to healthcare workers and is in the process of evaluating its need for the general public. Israel has also noted its own outbreaks.
According to Israeli reports, there has also been a case of "Florona"-- an infection with the Covid-19 and influenza at the same time.
In a news report from Ynetnews, it was first identified in a pregnant woman who labored at Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva. According to the hospital, she had not been vaccinated against either pathogen.
According to the report, the Health Ministry is still examining the relatively mild case and is unsure whether a combination of both viruses can cause severe illness.
The report states that many other patients have also contracted both viruses without being diagnosed.