Israel on Tuesday saw more than 8,000 new daily coronavirus cases diagnosed the day before, the highest number since September 30.
The Ministry of Health said 8,308 people were tested for COVID-19 on Monday after undergoing 110,813 coronavirus tests, bringing the improvement rate to 7.7%.
Coronavirus ward at Ichilov Hospital
(Photo: TPS )
1,361 people are said to be in hospital with COVID-19,764 of them in poor condition, with 183 on air vents. Since the outbreak began, 3,445 Israelis have contracted the virus, 98 in the last four days alone, indicating an average of 25 deaths per day.
Wolfson Medical Center in Holon, on the banks of Tel Aviv, on Tuesday announced it was unable to accept new patients suffering from the virus. The hospital has received patients from retirement homes and geriatric facilities in the past few days and their coronavirus wards are said to be full.
55,312 Israelis are fighting the virus, with Jerusalem leading the country with 10,761 active cases. The ultra-orthodox city of Bnei Brak is in second place with 2,466 coronavirus patients, followed by Tel Aviv which has 1,614 confirmed cases.
Ultra-Orthodox line up to get the coronavirus vaccine in Jerusalem last week
(Photo: Absolute Productions)
Nearly 1,000 of its residents are ill at Beitar Illit, another ultra-direct city, showing a 26% positive rate. Other Haredi communities appear to have high disease rates. In Elad, 19% of the tests returned positive and in Modi’in Illit, 16% of the tests were positive. For comparison, in Tel Aviv only 4% of all tests were positive.
In the meantime, the Ministry of Health plans to hold an emergency meeting later in the morning to discuss the continuing rise in cases, while the government is to meet in the afternoon to tighten the lock- normal water supply which may include school closures.