Still unexplained
The hunt for the origins of Covid-19 has for the past four years been a tangled web of politics, power struggles, and international finger-pointing.
Israel’s Ministry of Health reported 1,335 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, the second highest daily rise since the pandemic outbreak in the country in late February. This brings the total coronavirus cases to 33,557, of which 14,875 are active cases.
The number of death cases rose from 344 to 346, while the number of patients in serious condition increased from 86 to 113, out of 405 patients currently hospitalized.
The number of recoveries rose to 18,338, with 111 new recoveries.
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On Saturday, Israeli police said that Israeli border police chief Yaakov Shabtai tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday held a consultation with Health Minister Yuli Edelstein and National Security Council head Meir Ben-Shabbat, at which they discussed morbidity data at various centres ahead of declaring restricted zones.
In May, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s aide had tested positive for coronavirus, but it was not clear if the 70-year-old leader had been exposed or his work affected.
Netanyahu had tested negative for Coronavirus earlier on March 15.
However, Netanyahu’s office earlier said in a statement “In accordance with directives from the Prime Minister’s Office deputy director general for security and emergencies, routine coronavirus tests were being carried out on those in close proximity to PM Netanyahu, as well as on the prime minister himself; none of those being tested showed any prior symptoms”.
Last month, Netanyahu warned that if the increase in infections continues, restrictions that were lifted would have to be reimposed.
Meanwhile, the overall number of global COVID-19 cases has surpassed the 12 million mark, while the deaths have increased to more than 548,000, according to the Johns Hopkins University.
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