42 New Virus Cases Overnight; Fewer Than 500 New Cases in the Week

For the first time since the coronavirus outbreak took off in Israel, the weekly toll of confirmed coronavirus cases has dipped below 500, as per Health Ministry data published Thursday night.

The number of Israelis who have died from coronavirus rose to 245 people, the Health Ministry announced Friday morning.

There are currently 5,157 active cases, with a total number of 16,409 since the outbreak began. 64 patients are currently in serious condition.

A week earlier, on April 30, the number of infections was 15,946, with just 463 cases added in the last seven days.

On Friday morning, an 88-year-old man passed away from coronavirus. The man, a resident of Haifa, passed away in the Bnei Zion hospital, after being admitted over a month ago in serious condition.

Several hospitals, Shaare Zedek in Yerushalayim, Assuta in Ashdod and Barzilai in Ashkelon, have closed their coronavirus wards as the number of patients has declined.

Health Ministry statistics show that Yerushalayim, the city that has seen the most coronavirus cases, was joining other cities in managing to bring its infection rate down. Several neighborhoods in Yerushalayim locked down earlier in the week.