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November 18th, 2020 
Awake Goy 
Israel, the West Bank and Gaza are dealing with a renewed coronavirus outbreak, leading to proposals and measures intended to curb its spread and mitigate the economic ramifications of the crisis by both Israeli and Palestinian authorities.
Israel currently has 8,293 active cases; 2,735 people have died. In the West Bank, there are 5,790 active cases and 608 deaths, and in Gaza 3,545 active cases and 50 deaths.
LIVE UPDATES
1:44 P.M. Pfizer ends vaccine trial with 95 percent efficacy
Pfizer Inc said on Wednesday that final results from the late-stage trial of its COVID-19 vaccine show it was 95% effective, adding it had the required two-months of safety data and would apply for emergency U.S. authorization within days.
The drugmaker said efficacy of the vaccine developed with German partner BioNTech SE was consistent across age and ethnicity demographics, and that there were no major side effects, a sign that the immunization could be employed broadly around the world.
Efficacy in adults over 65 years, who are at particular risk from the virus, was over 94%.
The final analysis comes just one week after initial results from the trial showed the vaccine was more than 90% effective. Moderna Inc on Monday released preliminary data for its vaccine, showing similar effectiveness.
The better-than-expected data from the two vaccines, both developed with new technology known as messenger RNA (mRNA), have raised hopes for an end to a resurgent pandemic that has killed more than 1.3 million people globally and wreaked havoc upon economies and daily life. (Reuters)
10:30 A.M. Record infections among Palestinians as health officials fear collapse
Eleven Palestinians died on Tuesday from the coronavirus and 1,068 new verified infections were recorded on Tuesday evening in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank (excluding East Jerusalem).
This is the highest number of infections among Palestinian detected in one day: 486 in Gaza and 582 in the West Bank. In East Jerusalem, 90 new infections were reported.
However, according to medical sources, the number of actual infections is probably three times higher.
A set of restrictions and local curfews are in place in both Palestinian territories, and authorities have stepped up enforcement, which includes detention for those flouting coronavirus rules. Officials are urging the population to respect the regulation, warning about the impoverished health system’s collapse. (Amira Hass)
9:01 A.M. Israeli army to stop monitoring social media in fight against COVID-19
The Israeli military announced on Wednesday it would no longer monitor posts on social media in Israel as part of its efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
Israel’s Military Intelligence has assisted the police in trying to break the chain of infection by monitoring social media posts to stop large gatherings, such as outdoor raves, as well as locating infected individuals who violated quarantine.
The military is wary of overstepping its boundaries when it comes to its role in the fight against the coronavirus, out of concern that it could be perceived as harmful to democracy, according to senior officials. (Amos Harel)
8:45 A.M. 815 Israelis diagnosed Tuesday
There were 815 Israelis diagnosed with the coronavirus Tuesday, Health Ministry data shows. There are currently 8,293 active cases. There are 307 patients in serious condition, of which 131 are on ventilators. (Haaretz)
6:30 A.M. Most Israelis afraid to be first to receive COVID-19 vaccine, poll finds
For a significant percentage of the Israeli public, the fear of being vaccinated against the coronavirus is greater than the danger of the virus and its broad social and economic consequences.
A recent survey by the Israel Democracy Institute indicates that 52 percent of Israelis are unwilling to be vaccinated during the first cycle. Only 21 percent replied that they were definitely ready to be inoculated when the vaccine arrives in Israel, while 19 percent said that they would agree to be vaccinated. The rest said responded that it was difficult for them to say. The survey, which sampled over 600 people, also shows that the fear of being vaccinated is more common among women than among men, and more among young people than older ones.
The survey is not the only one attesting to a relative high percentage of people afraid to be vaccinated. A broader survey conducted from late July through August by researchers and doctors from the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya, which sampled almost 2,700 subjects, including 900 health workers, showed a significant negative response to getting inoculated – both among health care workers and the general public. (Ido Efrati)
TUESDAY
7:45 P.M. Court seeks clarifications on tracking by Israel’s security service
The High Court of Justice issued a show cause order on Tuesday, ordering the state to explain why Shin Bet contact tracking of coronavirus patients is not limited to cases in which patients are uncooperative with epidemiological investigators. The court also ordered the state to explain why, as is required by law, it is not promoting civilian technology as an alternative to the use of contact tracing. (Netael Bandel)
1:30 P.M. Merchants in Tel Aviv’s Carmel Market reopen in protest of coronavirus regulations
Tens of stall-owners in Tel Aviv’s Carmel Market reopened on Tuesday, defying government restrictions on open-air markets.
Since the second lockdown was implemented in September, the bulk of the merchants in the market have been shut, with the exception of grocers and stalls selling takeaway food. This is in contrast to markets in other areas, which have opened in agreement with local authorities.
In response to the protest, Tel Aviv Municipality fined one merchant and issued several warnings to others.
One merchant, Attilia Dwek, told Haaretz that she strictly observes the guidelines on masks and social distancing, and that she felt obliged to reopen: “I am living on cents anyway. They have shut down our lives,” she said. (Bar Peleg)
>> Click here to read the full report
10:45 A.M. Health Minister visits Eilat amid tourism restart
Health Minister Yuli Edelstein has begun his official visit to Eilat, following the government’s decision to open up “green islands” of tourism.
“This is great news for the residents of Eilat, but also for each and every citizen of Israel. It will finally be possible to go on holiday in Israel,” he said at the coronavirus testing facilities at the entrance to the resort city.
However, he also warned the public “not to come here without a negative coronavirus test,” and said that people flouting the rules will mean the project of restarting tourism “will be very short.”
“We have to be careful that nobody brings the virus with them to Eilat,” he added.
He is being joined by the mayor of the city, Meir Yitzhak Halevi, the deputy director-general of the health ministry, Prof. Itamar Grotto, and the head of the public health services at the Health Ministry, Dr. Sharon Elrai Price. (Haaretz)
MONDAY
9:50 P.M. Number of new daily cases highest in three weeks
There have been 903 new coronavirus cases diagnosed in the country since Sunday, according to Health Ministry figures – the highest daily rise since the last week of October. Two more people have died, raising the death toll to 2,734. There are 320 people hospitalized in serious condition, including 128 on ventilators. The proportion of positive tests stands at 2 percent. (Ido Efrati)
7:05 P.M. Netanyahu says he spoke with Putin about purchasing Russian COVID vaccine
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that he had spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the possibility of purchasing Russia’s COVID-19 vaccine, dubbed Sputnik V.
Speaking at a press conference, Netanyahu also referenced news of effective vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, saying: “All this won’t happen overnight, but we are not talking about years – we’re talking about months. So we are already seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.”
Earlier this month, Jerusalem’s Hadassah Medical Center said it had ordered 1.5 million doses of the Russian vaccine. (Noa Landau) Read the full story here…
6:35 P.M. Coronavirus cabinet approves return to in-person classes in low-infection towns
The coronavirus cabinet approved on Monday the resumption of in-person classes for some grades in “green” and “yellow” towns, as defined according to the country’s “traffic light” system of classifying which locations have high infection rates. According to the plan agreed upon by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Benny Gantz, the fifth and sixth grades will resume in-person classes on Tuesday of next week, and the eleventh and twelfth grades the following week. The ministers also approved placing a nighttime curfew on “red” and “orange.” Health Ministry officials opposed further loosening of restrictions.
The coronavirus cabinet also decided to expand the use of the authority to declare towns as “restricted zones;” to increase fines for violating restrictions, particularly in cases involving unapproved gatherings; and conditioning work in certain fields on regular testing.(Noa Landau)
4:30 P.M. Dozens of fines handed out to schools for violating regulations expected to be withdrawn
Dozens of fines given to schools that opened in violation of regulations last months are expected to be canceled. The 65 fines of 5,000 shekels (nearly $1,500) each were mostly handed out to ultra-Orthodox institutions and are expected to be withdrawn because the Knesset Education Committee did not approve the regulations permitting authorities to order the fines. The mistake was discovered by legal advisers at the Knesset on Thursday and was first reported on Channel 12 News. (Shira Kadari-Ovadia)
2:58 P.M. Israeli army, police monitor social media to prevent gatherings
The Alon Command, the Israel Defense Forces program for breaking chains of coronavirus infections, tracks social media to identify planned events with the potential to spread the virus. Current coronavirus regulations in Israel prohibit large indoor or outdoor gatherings.
The monitoring is carried out by around 2,800 soldiers, some of whom serve in Military Intelligence and specialize in tracking social media. The intelligence they gather is forwarded to the police so they can scuttle the planned events. The soldiers’ work has helped prevent a number of outdoor rave parties as well as several large weddings. In a few cases, social media posts tipped off the monitors to individuals who were breaking quarantine. These cases were also referred to the police.
The army says these methods are effective and have reduced the potential for transmission of the disease. But monitoring social media is a violation of privacy, part of the “slippery slope” many have warned about when the state introduces invasive measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus. (Amos Harel, Yaniv Kubovich) Read the full report.
2:25 P.M. Moderna says its vaccine is 94.5 percent effective
Moderna Inc said on Monday its experimental vaccine was 94.5% effective in preventing COVID-19 based on interim data from a late-stage clinical trial, becoming the second U.S. company in a week to report results that far exceed expectations.
Together with Pfizer Inc’s vaccine, also shown to be more than 90% effective, and pending more safety data and regulatory review, the United States could have two vaccines authorized for emergency use in December with as many as 60 million doses of vaccine available by the year’s end.
Israel has already signed a deal for one million vaccine doses from Moderna, valued at $238 million. It also signed agreements with Pfizer and Arcturus.
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