The government is fearing that the number of cases in the fifth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic is even higher than the "most pessimistic forecasts", Kan 11 News reported on Wednesday.

According to the report, after the outline allowing exemption from isolation based on a test conducted at home has been presented, the government fears that tests carried out at home and which come back positive will not be reported, but says that "there is no other alternative."

In the wake of the concern about non-reporting, it was determined that workers in essential professions will be required to undergo PCR tests and a discussion with senior Ministry of Health officials will be held on Thursday on the question of whether the definitions of who are essential workers should be expanded in light of this.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance is demanding that the isolation period for verified patients be shortened from ten to seven days, in order to reduce the risk that hundreds of thousands of Israelis will be in isolation at the same time, causing damage to the economy.... Read More: Arutz-7