Israel News for 12-9-2020
News Update
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The Health Ministry reported 1,719 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday. There are currently 14,905 active cases of which 310 people are hospitalized in serious condition and 113 on ventilators. There have been 2,932 coronavirus related deaths since the start of the pandemic.
The first batch of several thousand doses of Pfizer’s new coronavirus vaccine arrived in Israel this morning. PM Netanyahu was there to greet the plane and said that he would be the first to take the vaccine. Another, much larger, shipment will be arriving tomorrow, and more next week. Israelis choosing to get vaccinated will reportedly receive benefits from the government, such as an exemption from the requirement to isolate upon returning from abroad or being exposed to a confirmed coronavirus carrier.
According to a new research report, the number of Israeli households below the poverty line has grown by nearly 50% during the coronavirus pandemic, which equals 268,000 people. To read more about this click here.
Senior Likud member Gideon Saar has decided to resign from the party and the Knesset in order to launch a new political party called “New Hope” to challenge PM Netanyahu. Initial polls show that Saar could win as many as 10 seats, which would likely give him the power to prevent Netanyahu from forming a new government. Saar will likely pull support from Likud and Yamina. New elections will most likely be held in March 2021.
