The number of cases in Israel rose to 12,591.
By World Israel News Staff
Israeli hospitals reported 10 more deaths in a 24-hour period, bringing the total to 141 by Thursday morning.
The dead were mainly in their 70s and 80s. They were from hospitals around the country.
The number of total corona cases in Israel rose to 12,591. Of them, 174 are listed in serious condition with 140 on ventilators.
Israel imposed a curfew for the last day of Passover and ordered bakeries closed until Thursday morning to prevent citizens from rushing to bakeries to stock up after the holiday when the consumption of leavened bread is forbidden.
The order on bakeries may have been unnecessary as media reported that bakeries were still empty on Thursday morning as people were afraid of large crowds at the shops.
The government is already looking to restart the economy after virtually shutting it down to stop the spread of the disease. Getting the country back to work will be done in stages and begin as soon as Sunday. Details are still being hashed out by the finance and health ministries about how to get Israelis back to work and school while avoiding new coronavirus outbreaks.
Orders to return to work may run into resistence. Teachers responded angrily to initial reports that classes for special needs students and pre-schools would be the first to start up.
The government appeared to back away from its plan. Deputy Director-General of the Ministry of Health, Prof. Itamar Grotto, told Army Radio on Thursday regarding the return of children to kindergartens, “Sunday is too early to restart the kindergartens but it will have to happen. We won’t put it off until the opening of the next school year.”
A more recent source of concern for the government is the rise in corona cases in the Arab sector. The Health Ministry is worried that the coming holiday of Ramadan, which lasts for a month, will lead to a spike in cases.