Daily US Times: Israel has recorded no new daily deaths related to coronavirus for the first time in 10 months, as the country pushes ahead with its speedy vaccination drive.

Israel’s health ministry data showed the country’s coronavirus death toll remained unchanged at 6,346 on Thursday.

The last time the country recorded zero Covid-19 deaths was at the end of June last year, after coronavirus lockdown measures curbed a first wave of infections.

Israel’s Covid-19 outbreak has eased after hitting its peak in January this year.

The Israeli government started to relax lockdown restrictions a month later as Covid-19 vaccinations were rolled out more widely.

The country has the highest vaccination rate in the world. On Thursday, Israel reached the milestone of five million Covid-19 vaccinations.

The health ministry of the country said more than 53% of the country’s population of about nine million people had received two doses of vaccine.

Health Minister Yuli Edelstein tweeted on Friday, said: “This is a tremendous achievement for the health system and Israeli citizens. Together we are eradicating the coronavirus.”

Eyal Leshem, a director at Israel’s largest hospital, the Sheba Medical Center, said last week that the country may be close to reaching “herd immunity”.

Herd immunity happens when enough of a population in a region or country has protection against an infection, thus stopping it from spreading.

Experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) have estimated that at least 65%-70% of a population need vaccination coverage before herd immunity is reached.

Mr Leshem said herd immunity was the “only explanation” for Israel’s continued fall in cases as more restrictions were lifted.

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