Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on Wednesday that the country could beat a concerning rise in new coronavirus cases without a nationwide shutdown.
But Mr Bennett said that would depend in part on people wearing masks indoors to suppress the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant.
He said he had instructed police to increase enforcement of the mask rule, with large fines for people who break it.
“That’s the fair thing to do, because it’s wrong to have people who are lazy and hurt the rest of the public,” Mr Bennett said.
A national shutdown, he said, was “a last resort", a reflection of the government’s effort to keep Israel’s economy strong.
“Stop shaking hands,” he told Israelis, suggesting an elbow bump instead. “Stop kissing and hugging except within the family.”
He also urged Israelis not to travel abroad as the Delta variant spreads in Europe and elsewhere.
New daily infections in Israel climbed to more than 700 on Wednesday, despite one of the world’s fastest inoculation campaigns.
More than 5.7 million people of Israel’s population of 9.3 million have been vaccinated at least once. About 5.2 million people have received two doses.
Israel has a mask-wearing mandate for people gathering indoors but adherence is poor, even on public transport and in hospitals, and enforcement is lax.
Most cases are mild and serious cases remain relatively low, but almost all new cases are due to the highly contagious Delta variant.
Mr Bennett also announced that Prof Salman Zarka, head of the Ziv Medical Centre in northern Israel, would oversee the country’s response as the new coronavirus chief.
Prof Zarka, a member of Israel’s Druze minority, formerly commanded the Israeli army’s medical corps and ran the Israeli field hospital providing humanitarian aid to Syrians.
Scores
Bournemouth 0-4 Liverpool
Arsenal 1-0 Huddersfield Town
Burnley 1-0 Brighton
Manchester United 4-1 Fulham
West Ham 3-2 Crystal Palace
Saturday fixtures:
Chelsea v Manchester City, 9.30pm (UAE)
Leicester City v Tottenham Hotspur, 11.45pm (UAE)
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If you go:
The flights: Etihad, Emirates, British Airways and Virgin all fly from the UAE to London from Dh2,700 return, including taxes
The tours: The Tour for Muggles usually runs several times a day, lasts about two-and-a-half hours and costs £14 (Dh67)
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is on now at the Palace Theatre. Tickets need booking significantly in advance
Entrance to the Harry Potter exhibition at the House of MinaLima is free
The hotel: The grand, 1909-built Strand Palace Hotel is in a handy location near the Theatre District and several of the key Harry Potter filming and inspiration sites. The family rooms are spacious, with sofa beds that can accommodate children, and wooden shutters that keep out the light at night. Rooms cost from £170 (Dh808).
The Details
Kabir Singh
Produced by: Cinestaan Studios, T-Series
Directed by: Sandeep Reddy Vanga
Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Suresh Oberoi, Soham Majumdar, Arjun Pahwa
Rating: 2.5/5
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Friday
Granada v Real Betis (9.30pm)
Valencia v Levante (midnight)
Saturday
Espanyol v Alaves (4pm)
Celta Vigo v Villarreal (7pm)
Leganes v Real Valladolid (9.30pm)
Mallorca v Barcelona (midnight)
Sunday
Atletic Bilbao v Atletico Madrid (4pm)
Real Madrid v Eibar (9.30pm)
Real Sociedad v Osasuna (midnight)
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
HAEMOGLOBIN DISORDERS EXPLAINED
Thalassaemia is part of a family of genetic conditions affecting the blood known as haemoglobin disorders.
Haemoglobin is a substance in the red blood cells that carries oxygen and a lack of it triggers anemia, leaving patients very weak, short of breath and pale.
The most severe type of the condition is typically inherited when both parents are carriers. Those patients often require regular blood transfusions - about 450 of the UAE's 2,000 thalassaemia patients - though frequent transfusions can lead to too much iron in the body and heart and liver problems.
The condition mainly affects people of Mediterranean, South Asian, South-East Asian and Middle Eastern origin. Saudi Arabia recorded 45,892 cases of carriers between 2004 and 2014.
A World Health Organisation study estimated that globally there are at least 950,000 'new carrier couples' every year and annually there are 1.33 million at-risk pregnancies.
