Edelstein Is Optimistic: No Reason to Assume There Will Be Another Lockdown Until Pesach

Health Minister Yuli Edelstein expressed his optimism in an interview on Sunday morning about Israel finally “getting out” of the coronavirus pandemic.

“There’s no reason to assume that there will be a lockdown until Pesach,” Edelstein said in an interview with 103FM radio. “We are in a very, very encouraging situation,” he noted.

“This is the first time I am pleasantly surprised by the coronavirus [numbers],” he said.

Meanwhile, the estimated coronavirus reproduction number in Israel continues to fall and now stands at 0.78. An “R” number above 1 indicates infections will grow at an exponential rate, while below 1 point to their eventual halt.

With 773 confirmed coronavirus cases throughout Shabbos, Israel’s contagion rate has also decreased and now stands at 2.9%, while the number of patients in serious condition decreased to 633.

Of those infected, 191 patients are on ventilators.

Israel’s death toll stood at 5,992.