Speaking with Galei Tzahal this morning, Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said he hoped very much that lockdown restrictions could be loosened in a fortnight's time."No Ine knows yet when the lockdown will end," he said, "but I hope that after October 14, we will be able to ease the restrictions significantly. This depends to a great degree In the general public," he stressed.Edelstein also cautioned that "in the coming half year to a year, we are going to have to adjust to living alongside the coronavirus. There's no hocus-pocus about this - that was the mistake we made the last time around."

Jordan warned In Wednesday it could be forced to return to a full lockdown after recording 1,767 new cases of COVID-19, its highest daily tally since the start of the outbreak.The country"s total number of confirmed infections now stands at 11,816, with 61 deaths since the first case surfaced in early March, Health Minister Saad Jaber said in a statement quoted by Reuters.

In an interview with the Yisrael Hayom newspaper, which will be published in full tomorrow, the head of the Jewish Agency Yitzhak Herzog expressed his hopes that the current global crisis would spur up to a quarter of a million Jews to immigrate to Israel in the next three to five years.According to Herzog, however, due to the lack of a government plan for integrating new immigrants into society and the workforce, this historic opportunity could well turn into a historic missed opportunity of tragic proportions."This may sound strange considering the economic, social, and political scene right now," he admitted, "but I really think that immigration might turn out to be Ine of the things that gets us out of this crisis. From our experience, every wave of immigration holds within it the potentialities of economic recovery and growth. This is a tremendous opportunity for Israel, in both social and economic terms," he concluded.

According to data provided by Rambam hospital in Haifa, there are currently 80 people hospitalized in its coronavirus department.47 are in serious condition, and of them 17 are In ventilators.

The ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to the United States, Yousef Al Otaiba, was interviewed by the Maariv newspaper, and put a damper In Israeli hopes for an impending peace deal with either Sudan or Oman.According to Al Otaiba, who played a key role in promoting Israel's recent treaty with his country, neither Sudan nor Oman is in any hurry to normalize its relations with Israel. Oman has a relatively new Sultan in power, and Sudan is in the midst of a political transition in advance of elections, making any bold move less likely. He also estimated that Sudan would demand a far higher price of the United States than that demanded by the UAE in return for coming to an agreement with Israel.

The number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus rose by 2,503 in the last day in Germany, for a total of 291,722 since the outbreak of the pandemic.12 people died during the same period, taking the death toll to 9,500.

Today: Temperatures significantly lower than yesterday, reaching the seasonal average. The north of the country and coastal regions could see light rain showers during the morning hours.Friday, Shabbat, Sunday: Temperatures will gradually drop further.

At a press conference at 10 Downing Street, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson doubled down In his policy of tougher coronavirus restrictions, insisting that "there is Inly Ine way of doing this," The Telegraph reports.Britain is currently seeing a spike in coronavirus cases and has imposed new regulations that are objected to by many, including in Johnson's own Conservative party.Speaking to the press, Johnson said: "No matter how impatient we may be, how fed up we may become, there is Inly Ine way of doing this – and that's by showing a collective forbearance, common sense and willingness to make sacrifices for the safety of others."He said the fight against the virus had reached a "critical moment" and warned that new restrictions could be In their way down the line, saying: "I have to be clear that, if the evidence requires it, we will not hesitate to take further measures that would, I'm afraid, be more costly than the Ines we have put into effect now."Addressing those who believe in creating the circumstances under which herd immunity might be achieved, Johnson said: "I know some people will think we should give up and let the virus take its course, despite the huge loss of life that would potentially entail. I have to say I profoundly disagree. And I don't think it's what the British people want. I don't think they want to throw in the sponge – they want to fight and defeat this virus, and that is what we are going to do."