COVID

Hantavirus-hit cruise ship due to arrive at Rotterdam port as final destination

Crew, passengers who already left the ship, and ⁠people in contact with them have been quarantined in several countries around the world.

|ByREUTERS
A police boat approaches the cruise ship MV Hondius at the port of Granadilla de Abona after being affected by a hantavirus outbreak, in Tenerife, Spain, May 10, 2026.
US HEALTH and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

RFK Jr.’s health department ordered withdrawal of studies showing vaccine efficiency - report

During the 2024 presidential election campaign, President Donald Trump promised to give anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. a prominent role in the White House’s health care section.

|ByLEO FEIERBERG BETTER
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks during the expanded meeting of the first plenary meeting of the Ninth Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), in Pyongyang, North Korea.

North Korea executions more than doubled after COVID, human rights group says

A plurality of death sentences before the pandemic were for murder, while during the pandemic, prosecutions seemingly centered around cultural crimes and information crimes.

|ByLEO FEIERBERG BETTER
In her Tel Aviv bookshop.

Aliyah in wartime Israel: Building a new home, opening an English bookstore

From London curator to Tel Aviv entrepreneur, Michal Goldschmidt turned uncertainty into opportunity, opening Bookhaus during wartime and building a new community space for English readers.

|ByABIGAIL KLEIN LEICHMAN

Post-COVID pandemic traveling fear and what to do about it

Most people gradually overcame their worries about venturing out to the world again, but some are still so traumatized by COVID.

MAY 12, 2023ByDR. MIKE GROPPER
MANY PEOPLE are avoiding crowds: Jerusalem’s Navon train station.

Teen mental health emergency visits decline in US as pandemic eases, CDC says

While mental health emergency visits for adolescents overall during 2022 fell by 11%, poor mental and behavioral health in this age group remains a substantial public health issue.

MAY 11, 2023ByREUTERS
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Israel marks 12,500th COVID death as WHO says no more global emergency

A total of 12,500 people in Israel had died from the COVID-19 pandemic since the first victim died on March 21, 2020.

MAY 7, 2023ByJUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH
SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 (illustrative).

COVID is no longer global health emergency - WHO

Lifting it is a sign of the progress the world has made in these areas, but COVID-19 is here to stay, the WHO has said, even if it no longer represents an emergency.

MAY 5, 2023ByREUTERS
A logo is pictured outside a building of the World Health Organization (WHO) during an executive board meeting on update on the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Geneva, Switzerland, April 6, 2021.

This week in Jerusalem: Keep in touch

A weekly round-up of city affairs.

MAY 5, 2023ByPEGGY CIDOR
STREET ART in Talpiot.

WHO experts to weigh whether world ready to end COVID emergency

Since giving its initial high alert for COVID in January 2020, a panel of experts have continued to examine the prominence of the crisis.

MAY 4, 2023ByREUTERS
Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital team members wearing safety gear as they work in the Coronavirus ward of Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospitall in Jerusalem on December 27, 2021, as Jerusalem hospital reopens COVID ward.

Israeli tourism bouncing back despite domestic troubles

Israeli tourism is on an upswing, while facing political and infrastructure challenges

APRIL 28, 2023ByKEREN SETTON/THE MEDIA LINE
ARRIVING AT Ben-Gurion Airport in Feb. Tourism is one of several industries that was absorbed a harsh economic impact due to the war in Gaza prompted by the October 7 attacks.

New COVID variant XBB.1.16 under WHO observation as cases spike

The WHO called the new COVID variant "one to watch" and is monitoring the new variant, which has been dubbed Arcturus as it continues to spread.

APRIL 13, 2023ByTZVI JOFFRE
SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus behind COVID-19 (Illustrative).

Average Israeli family makes break for freedom from stress in Thailand

The Rozentals call their venture Only Live Once, or OLO which, neatly, just happens to be the first letters of their sons’ names. Sounds like a perfect seasonal Passover fit.

APRIL 11, 2023ByBARRY DAVIS
THE ROZENTAL family on their global trek.

Shanghai Passover: Celebrating the holiday in China's COVID lockdown

Recollection of the lockdown Passover Seder of 2022 in Shanghai, China.

APRIL 11, 2023ByALAN ROSENBAUM
AN EMPTY Shanghai street on Passover 2022.