Israel has recorded no new daily Covid death for the first time in ten months as it continues to lead the world in its vaccination drive.
Figures show the country’s coronavirus death tolls remained unchanged at 6,346 on Thursday.
The last time Israel recorded zero Covid death was at the end of June last year. Hospitals have now started closing its specialist coronavirus wards after daily death toll plunged in recent weeks.
Israel continues to lead the world in its vaccination drive, with more than 80 per cent of its adult population vaccinated.
For the first time in 10 months, Israel have not recorded a single death related to Covid-19. it comes after the Israeli government dropped rules requiring people to wear face coverings when outside
Israel continues to lead the world in its vaccination drive, with the country having recently hit the landmark or having 80 per cent of its adult population vaccinated
With only one death having been recorded the day before, it appears as though the rate at which people are dying from the virus in Israel is slowing.
Israeli columnist Nadav Eyal Tweeted about the landmark achievement yesterday.
In the Tweet he said: ‘For the first time in 10 months, no Israeli died of Covid-19 in the last 24 hours.
‘Special Corona wards have closed in all hospitals and share of positive cases stands now on 0.4% with dozens of thousands of tests per day, in a 9M population. #Covid_EndGame.’
The last time that Israel managed to record zero coronavirus deaths was 299 days ago on June 29, 2020, following a series of lockdown restrictions which helped contain the first wave of the virus.
To date, Israel has recorded 837,892 cases of coronavirus, with 6,436 deaths
Coronavirus reached its peak in Israel in January this year and has been slowly easing up since, with the government now relaxing measures as vaccines continue to be rolled out.
Last week, the Israeli government announced that it had dropped its almost year-long outdoor mask mandate as it inches towards total immunisation of its adult population.
The restriction, which required masks to be worn outdoors unless exercising, was lifted on Sunday as Reuters reported that the country had vaccinated around 80 per cent of its adult population.
‘The rate of infection in Israel is very low thanks to the successful vaccine campaign in Israel, and therefore it is possible to ease [restrictions],’ Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said on Thursday, adding that masks will still be required indoors.
More than five million people have now received at least their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine.
Government data shows that Israel did not record a single death related to coronavirus, with their national total staying on 6,346. Pictured: People sitting outside at a restaurant in Tel Aviv after the country’s mask mandate was dropped
And the health ministry has also said that more than 53 per cent of the total population had been fully inoculated.
The drive has drastically cut hospitalisations and deaths from coronavirus.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu obtained millions of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines and the vaccines have transformed life in Israel. In mid-January the country had a peak of some 10,000 new infections a day but the rate is now about 200 cases a day.
The rate of new infections has remained low even after in-person learning resumed and restrictions were loosened on bars, restaurants and indoor gatherings.
Strict measures also remain in place for anyone entering the country with citizens and foreigners alike required to self isolate.
The health ministry has also said that more than 53 per cent of the total population had been fully inoculated. Pictured: Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu receiving his second Covid jab on January 9, 2021
‘We are leading the world right now when it comes to emerging from the coronavirus,’ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters. ‘(But) we have still not finished with the coronavirus. It can return.’
Confidence is so high in Israel that last week, Eyal lesham, a director at the country’s largest hospital, said that herd immunity within Israel could be within reach.
Mr Leshem said that the ‘only explanation’ for the continuous decline in coronavirus cases and deaths, even after restrictions began lifting, was because of herd immunity, the BBC reports.
Due to its world-leading vaccination programme, Israel is considered one of the countries most likely to be added to the UK’s ‘green list’ for safe travel next month.