Kindergartens shut by covid infection double in a week to 471

Coronavirus infection has begun sweeping the younger pre-school children and closed 471 kindergartens across the country. The pandemic’s focus is moving to children who are excluded from the national vaccination drive for adults, although trials on this age group are in progress by the manufacturers.  The R infection co-efficient has risen to 1 from 0.86 last week and still higher in the Arab community.

Prof. Gili Regev, Sheba medical center director of infectious diseases, criticized government decisions to open the international airport and other sectors ahead of the fixed schedule by saying: “We are in an election season and many of those decisions derive from that consideration rather than being governed by health considerations.”

The rising number of 4,265 new cases were reported on Tuesday although the proportion of positive results from 91,122 tests dropped to 4.9pc. Seriously ill cases have declined to 717 of whom 224 are on respirators. Altogether 5,797 covid cases have died in the past year.

More than 4.8 million Israelis have been given their first covid vaccine dose and 3.5 million both shots.