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Israel’s Health Ministry Recommends Some Wear Masks Indoors amid Rise in COVID Cases

A nurse pushes a bed at the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) ward at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital, in Jerusalem January 31, 2022. Picture taken January 31, 2022. (Reuters)
A nurse pushes a bed at the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) ward at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital, in Jerusalem January 31, 2022. Picture taken January 31, 2022. (Reuters)
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Israel’s Health Ministry Recommends Some Wear Masks Indoors amid Rise in COVID Cases

A nurse pushes a bed at the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) ward at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital, in Jerusalem January 31, 2022. Picture taken January 31, 2022. (Reuters)
A nurse pushes a bed at the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) ward at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital, in Jerusalem January 31, 2022. Picture taken January 31, 2022. (Reuters)

Israel's health ministry on Tuesday advised people with compromised immune systems to wear masks in crowded indoor spaces as it marks an increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations ahead of the Jewish holidays.

In a statement, the ministry said there was a "moderate rise" in hospitalizations due to a number of COVID variants found both in Israel and around the world.

"Ahead of the holidays and as a result of increased morbidity, the health ministry recommends people in at-risk groups or those who want to limit the risk of infection wear a mask in crowded indoor spaces."

Large family gatherings are common during the Jewish holiday season, which begins on Sept. 15 and extends over about a month.

The ministry said it was soon preparing to issue vaccines that target new subvariants.

COVID infections and hospitalizations have been on the rise in the US, Europe and Asia but are well below previous peaks.

Israel is among six countries where a highly mutated COVID variant called BA.2.86 has been detected, but which scientists have said is unlikely to lead to a devastating wave of severe disease and death.

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Taiwan Detects 41 Chinese Military Aircraft, Ships ahead of Lai US Stopover

FILE -In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, a J-15 Chinese fighter jet prepares to take off from the Shandong aircraft carrier during the combat readiness patrol and military exercises around the Taiwan Island by the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) on Sunday, April 9, 2023. (An Ni/Xinhua via AP, File)
FILE -In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, a J-15 Chinese fighter jet prepares to take off from the Shandong aircraft carrier during the combat readiness patrol and military exercises around the Taiwan Island by the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) on Sunday, April 9, 2023. (An Ni/Xinhua via AP, File)
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Taiwan Detects 41 Chinese Military Aircraft, Ships ahead of Lai US Stopover

FILE -In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, a J-15 Chinese fighter jet prepares to take off from the Shandong aircraft carrier during the combat readiness patrol and military exercises around the Taiwan Island by the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) on Sunday, April 9, 2023. (An Ni/Xinhua via AP, File)
FILE -In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, a J-15 Chinese fighter jet prepares to take off from the Shandong aircraft carrier during the combat readiness patrol and military exercises around the Taiwan Island by the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) on Sunday, April 9, 2023. (An Ni/Xinhua via AP, File)

Taiwan said Friday it detected 41 Chinese military aircraft and ships around the island ahead of a Hawaii stopover by President Lai Ching-te, part of a Pacific tour that has sparked fury in Beijing.
Beijing insists self-ruled Taiwan is part of its territory and opposes any international recognition of the island and its claim to be a sovereign nation.
To press its claims, China deploys fighter jets, drones and warships around Taiwan on a near-daily basis, with the number of sorties increasing in recent years.
In the 24 hours to 6:00 am on Friday (2200 GMT Thursday), Taiwan's defense ministry said it had detected 33 Chinese aircraft and eight navy vessels in its airspace and waters.
That included 19 aircraft that took part in China's "joint combat readiness patrol" on Thursday evening and was the highest number in more than three weeks, according to an AFP tally of figures released daily by the ministry.
Taiwan also spotted a balloon -- the fourth since Sunday -- about 172 kilometres (107 miles) west of the island.
"It can't be ruled out that there will be a relatively large-scale military exercise in response to Lai's visit," Su Tzu-yun, a military expert at Taiwan's Institute for National Defense and Security Research, told AFP.
'Old friends'
Lai, an outspoken defender of Taiwan's sovereignty and whom China calls a "separatist", departs Saturday on his first overseas trip since taking office in May.
He will stop briefly in Hawaii and the US territory of Guam to meet "old friends", as he visits Taiwan's three remaining allies in the Pacific.
Taiwanese government officials have previously stopped over on US soil during visits to the Pacific or Latin America, angering China, which has sometimes responded with military drills around the island.
China has reacted furiously to Lai's planned trip, with a spokesperson for the defense ministry vowing Thursday to "resolutely crush" any attempts for Taiwan independence.
Asked whether China's military would take countermeasures over Lai's Pacific tour, Wu Qian said: "We firmly oppose official interaction with China's Taiwan region in any form."
China has staged two large-scale military drills around Taiwan since Lai took office and verbally attacked him at every turn over his statements and speeches.
Lin Ying-yu, a military expert at Tamkang University, said China's response would be determined by Lai's remarks during the trip.
"China may carry out military exercises, but they may not be large ones. It will depend on what President Lai says," Lin told AFP, adding the current weather was "not very good" for drills.
'Legitimacy'
The South Pacific was once seen as a bastion of support for Taiwan's claim to statehood, but China has methodically whittled this down.
In the past five years, Solomon Islands, Kiribati and Nauru have all been persuaded to switch diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing.
The Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau are now the only Pacific island nations among Taiwan's 12 remaining diplomatic allies.
Beijing's efforts to woo Taiwan's allies and expand its influence in the region have alarmed the United States, Australia and New Zealand.
Switching recognition to China "opened the door to much deeper engagement between Beijing and those countries," said Mark Harrison, a senior lecturer in Chinese studies at the University of Tasmania.
Lai's trip was a rare opportunity for the president to represent Taiwan abroad and bolster its claim to statehood.
"Even though they kind of look theatrical and performative, (these trips) actually give Taiwan a genuine voice in the international system," Harrision told AFP.
"They confer legitimacy, they confer the appearance of sovereignty and, with the international system as it is, the appearance of sovereignty is also sovereignty."