No masks in Israel

According to Israel's Health Minister, Prof. Nachman Ash, due to an increase in coronavirus infections, the country will not reinstall its indoor mask requirement.

According to Ash, "We don't know if this is the start of a new wave. Israel is not preparing a fifth shot. A week from now, we'll reassess our course of action."

Ash urged Israelis to analyze their health risks and act accordingly. "Everyone should estimate their risk," Ash said, adding that masks aren't necessary indoors for the time being.

The infection rate on Thursday was 1.27, according to the Health Ministry. There are two ways to measure the number of people each coronavirus carrier infects. Any R-value greater than one signifies the onset of a pandemic.

For the second day in a row, more than 4,500 new cases were reported in Israel. On Thursday, there were 4,674 new instances of coronavirus infection reported to the Health Ministry, with 88 of those cases being considered critical.

Specialists disagree on how the government should respond to a rise in the number of new cases. Wednesday, the country's coronavirus task panel recommended reintroducing the requirement to use an indoor respirator. On Thursday, Ash told Army Radio, "Each person should evaluate the risk for themselves" Individuals will have to decide for themselves.

When asked about a fifth dose, the health ministry's pandemic task committee said no. Ash told Army Radio on Thursday that he couldn't make a decision based on the information he had at the time. Is a new vaccination necessary to avert a major disease? "We don't know," says the researcher.