The Ministry of Health on Tuesday recommended that the COVID-19 vaccine be promoted to children aged 5-11 as the daily incidence of coronavirus infections continues to rise, raising concerns that the country is entering its sixth virus outbreak.
Officials have instructed health management organizations to make plans available for children in that age range.
The third dose can also be given to children who were cured of coronavirus more than three months ago.
Israel began vaccinating children aged 5-11 in November last year, but data released by the Ministry of Health on Tuesday show that 76.5% of children of that age have not been vaccinated so far.
The data also showed that in the last month, 1,261 children without the 5-11-year-old vaccine who had recovered from the virus were taken back, as well as 295 who had been given at least one dose of the vaccine.
Aside from Tuesday, Israeli coroner Salman Zarka told reporters that although COVID-19 cases appear to be on the rise, COVID tests at the airport are unlikely to return soon.
“We see no reason to control people at border crossings,” Zarka said. “We will test people at Ben Gurion Airport if there are any concerns about new variants in the world.”
Zarka added that there are no plans for current health care providers to bring about a reduction in COVID. The condition to be tested on landing at Ben Gurion Airport was removed from 21 May.
7,330 new virus cases were diagnosed on Monday, the highest number since April 6, according to official ministry data.
The reproductive number of the virus, R, was given as 1.51, the same as the day before. The figure for the previous 10 days measures the average number of people infected by each coronavirus carrier, which means that the spread of COVID-19 with any number above 1 is increasing. It started to rise above 1 in mid-May, after being below that threshold for almost two months.
Of the 30,090 active patients, 103 are in serious condition.
Israel has made vaccination a key strategy in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, and so far, of its 9.5 million inhabitants, 6,710,522 have had at least one dose, of which 6,142,332 have had two and 4,496,066 have had three. There are also 816,370 who made the fourth shot.
The Ministry of Health on Monday advised people to start wearing face masks again indoors.
In a statement, the ministry said there had been a “big jump” in the number of infections in recent days, “along with an increase in the number of serious cases.”
There was no indication that the ministry would seek to implement the recommendation, but it could indicate that government cuts will be returned if infection figures continue to rise.
“This is not a demand, but an act of solidarity and care for others,” the statement said.
Israel withdrew its demand for an internal mask in April, as the number of infections dropped sharply. Outer masks have not been needed since April last year.