Israel’s Health Ministry reported on Monday that Israel’s basic reproduction number (R) has decreased from 1.02 to 0.99. However, there is a worrying increase in the R number (how many people each virus carrier infects) in the Chareidi sector, from 1 to 1.07. A reproduction number above 1 means that the outbreak is worsening rather than abating. In the Arab sector, the R number has decreased from 1.04 to 0.98. The ministry reported 2,331 new coronavirus cases as of Monday morning, with tests showing a positivity rate of 3.7%, the lowest percentage in months. However, 9% of new coronavirus patients are from the Chareidi sector, with a positivity rate of 4.8%. There are currently 708 seriously ill patients, of whom 223 are ventilated.

Despite Israel’s partial opening of the skies to its citizens, foreigners continue to be barred from entering the country. Since the onset of the third Corona wave in early January, student visa holders, too, have been prevented from entering Israel. Now, Interior Minister Aryeh Deri has extended the ban on students until at least March 27 (Erev Pesach). See the Interior Ministry’s latest rules, here. It should be emphasized that there is no reason to believe that immediately after March 27, students will be granted entry. Rather, it is now clear that until March 27, permission will certainly not be granted. This new ruling underscores the Travel Advisory issued in February by Amudim, Chaim V’Chessed and the Igud.

An astonishing 80% of Israelis arriving back into the country violate quarantine, with only 1 out of 5 passengers adhering to regulations, Channel 12 News reported on Sunday evening. The report added that about 20% of Israeli travelers successfully avoid the mandatory coronavirus test at the airport. Data shows that this situation has resulted in at least 1,838 Israelis entering Israel while carrying COVID-19. The Health Ministry’s electronic tracking bracelet pilot program, which ended on Friday, was successful, with only six participants violating quarantine requirements but it cannot be continued until legislation allowing the surveillance program is passed.

With Merrick Garland poised to be confirmed as attorney general as early as next week, one of the first major questions he is likely to encounter is what to do about Rudy Giuliani. A federal probe into the overseas and business dealings of the former New York City mayor and close ally of former President Donald Trump stalled last year over a dispute over investigative tactics as Trump unsuccessfully sought reelection and amid Giuliani’s prominent role in subsequently disputing the results of the contest on Trump’s behalf. But the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan has since returned to the question of bringing a criminal case against Giuliani, focusing at least in part on whether he broke U.S.

President Joe Biden said Tuesday that the U.S. expects to take delivery of enough coronavirus vaccines for all adult Americans by the end of May, two months earlier than anticipated, as his administration announced that drugmaker Merck & Co. will help produce rival Johnson & Johnson’s newly approved shot. With the bolstered supply, Biden also announced he would be using the powers of the federal government to direct all states to prioritize vaccinating teachers, and said the federal government would provide the doses directly through its pharmacy program. He challenged states to administer at least one dose of the vaccine to all teachers by the end of March as part of his administration’s efforts to reopen more schools across the nation.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to ship surplus coronavirus vaccines to a group of allied nations was frozen Thursday following a legal challenge to the deal, his office announced. Netanyahu announced on Wednesday that he had personally decided to share small quantities of surplus Israeli vaccines with allied nations. He did not identify the countries, but an Israeli TV station said they included a number of nations that have supported Israel’s claims to the contested city of Jerusalem as its capital. Netanyahu’s governing partner and rival, Defense Minister Benny Gantz, on Thursday called for a halt in the shipments, saying Israel’s stockpile of vaccines is the property of the state.

As Am Yisrael prepares to celebrate Purim in the shadow of the coronavirus, the Gedolei HaPoskim in Eretz Yisrael wrote a letter calling for people not to drink to the point of drunkenness this year. The letter was signed by HaGaon HaRav Yitzchak Zilberstein, Rav of Ramat Elchanan and a member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah, HaGaon HaRav Shimon Badani, a member of the Motetzet Chachmei HaTorah of Shas, HaGaon HaRav Shariel Rosenberg, Gaon Av Beis Din of Bnei Brak, and HaGaon HaRav Yehudah Silman, Av Beis Din in Bnei Brak. In a letter entitled: Drinking To The Point Of Drunkenness During The Coronavirus Pandemic, the Rabbanim wrote that “a state of drunkenness is very risky and unseemly.

A new coronavirus variant that has some similarities to the South African and Brazilian variants is on the rise in New York City, researchers stated on Wednesday, according to a Reuters report. The new variant, known as B.1.526, was first identified in New York in November. By mid-February, it was behind 12% of new cases, according to researchers at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. The researchers said that when performing an analysis of databases, they identified only a small amount of the South African and Brazilian variants. “Instead we found high numbers of this home-grown lineage,” said Dr. Anne-Catrin Uhlemann, assistant professor in the division of infectious diseases at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Over 70% of Israelis over 16 have been vaccinated, Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said on Tuesday morning. A total of 4.5 million Israelis have received the first dose of the vaccine, of whom over 3 million received both doses. The IDF stated on Tuesday that about 85% of its soldiers and personnel will be vaccinated within the next couple of weeks. Vaccines have reduced infections among young people by 50%, according to a report by Prof. Eran Segal, who developed Weizmann Institute’s prediction model for the spread of COVID in Israel. “The first group to see a drop was the over 60s, which saw a dramatic decline in serious illness, followed by those aged 55-60,” he said.

just before the start of the Purim weekend, which is Thursday-Sunday this year, the government voted unanimously in favor of a night curfew to take place each night of the three-day weekend from 8:30 p.m. until 5:00 a.m. The purpose of the curfew is to hamper any possible spread of the virus over the holiday, which many point to as the holiday which began the spread of the pandemic in earnest last year in the country. According to the rules of the night curfew, people will not be able to travel beyond 1,000 meters from their home except for essential needs, and there will be a ban on being in another’s person’s home during that time. Public transportation will also severely limited and in many cases halted altogether.  Intercity bus service will not be running from Thursday at 8 p.m.