A teenager receives a vaccination against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Tel Aviv, Israel, January 24, 2021. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/File Photo.

i24 News – Israel is unlikely to see a new lockdown before the Passover holidays in late March, the country’s coronavirus response czar Prof. Nachman Ash said on Wednesday.

In his remarks for Radio 103FM, Ash pointed at the decreasing transmissions and new daily infections as positive signs for the country.

He warned, however, that while the probability of new restrictions was low, nothing could be set in stone.

Also on Wednesday, Health Ministry Director-General Chezy Levy told Ynet that he was hoping that the ministry would be able to lift more restrictions on social gatherings ahead of the coming holidays.

“Undoubtedly there is a trend of stabilization in the basic reproduction number, there is a trend of a decrease in the number of new verified cases, and a decrease in seriously ill patients,” he told the outlet.

The official stressed, however, that full removal of restrictions was not yet on the table.

On Wednesday, the Health Ministry reported registering 3,055 new COVID-19 infections on Tuesday, with the positive test ratio declining to 3.3%.

With 653 patients still in a serious condition, Israel’s death toll throughout the pandemic neared 6,000.