Covid Numbers Rise, Not a Wave

By Hamodia Staff

YERUSHALAYIM – The Health Ministry reported a further rise in Covid infections on Sunday, as the basic reproduction number, or R-value, reached 1.44, the highest figure over the last three months.

The ministry reported that 3,259 new patients were diagnosed the day before.

The R-value, which reflects infection levels 10 days earlier, measures how many people each coronavirus carrier infects on average, with any number above 1 meaning the spread is increasing.

Coronavirus commissioner Salman Zarka told Radio 103FM Sunday that he still would not raise the alarm for a full-fledged outbreak, but advised people to resume wearing face masks, especially at-risk groups.

Zarka said this latest data is only “the tip of the iceberg” being recorded and that there is a significant number of people who either do not test themselves when experiencing symptoms, or do not report to authorities if a home test returns a positive result.

However, he said there is no immediate plan to reintroduce any of the restrictions  applied over the past two years.

“We aren’t at a point of restrictions. We are only at the start of a rise,” Zarka said.

There are now 25,859 active patients confirmed in the country.