For the first time since late December, the number of serious COVID-19 patients in Israel fell below 600, the Ministry of Health reported Tuesday night.
According to ministry data, 586 Israelis were hospitalized in a serious condition with coronavirus and 208 of them were attached to ventilators for respiratory assistance.
Out of approximately 40,000 coronavirus tests performed in the previous 24 hours, 2.3% came back positive making up 905 new cases.
The national COVID-19 death toll has reached 6,047 deaths since the outbreak of the pandemic in Israel, with 272 Israelis catching the disease since the beginning of March.
Also on Tuesday, an additional 8,500 Israelis received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine since midnight and more than 32,000 others received a second increase. Overall, over 55% of Israelis received the vaccine with the first dose of the vaccine and 46.5% also received the second dose.
The official said at a hearing of the Knesset Finance Committee that the state is expected to spend another $ 2.5 billion to buy another round of vaccines if needed over the summer.
The green pass issued to Israelis who received both doses of the vaccine or received from the disease is only valid for six months.
If the calculations are correct, the country needs another 5 million doses to vaccinate the rest of its adult population in addition to Palestinian and foreign workers who hold permits to work in Israel costing around NIS 900 one million.