New Record: 1,977 New Cases in One Day; Death Toll Rises to 430

YERUSHALAYIM
Health-care workers take test samples of Israelis to check if they have been infected with the coronavirus, at a Clalit Briut health center in Modi’in Ilit, July 7. (Yossi Aloni/FLASH90)

Israel hit another coronavirus peak on Wednesday, with the Health Ministry saying that 1,977 people tested positive for the coronavirus on Tuesday – the highest number in a single day since the start of the pandemic.

With just more than 27,000 people screened, the infection rate is over 7%.

There are currently 31,313 active patients in Israel.

On Wednesday, the number of serious patients was also higher than before: 259, among them 82 who are on ventilators. Moreover, five more people died overnight Tuesday, bringing the death toll to 430. There have been 60 deaths in the last week.

In a breakdown by city, 1,794 new patients have been diagnosed in Yerushalayim in the last seven days, 962 in Bnei Brak, 487 in Beitar Illit, 467 in Tel Aviv, 414 in Beit Shemesh, 344 in Petach Tikvah, 343 in Ashdod, 320 in Haifa, 262 in Lod and 244 in Modi’in Illit.

On Wednesday, the Health Ministry said that it is cutting the quarantine time for coronavirus patients from two weeks to 10 days from the onset of the symptoms.

“The Health Ministry has adopted the recommendations of the World Health Organization and shortened the recovery and isolation periods in some cases,” the ministry said in a statement Wednesday morning.

Recent research has shown that nine days after symptoms begin, the risk of spreading the disease is very low.

Under the new regulations put out by the Health Ministry, a person who was diagnosed with the coronavirus and experienced symptoms will be considered to have recovered 10 days after he or she first experienced symptoms, plus three additional days to confirm that the symptoms have ended.

In such a case, the patient may consider him or herself free of all restrictions, and does not require further examination.

A person who was infected with the virus but had no symptoms will be considered recovered, and able to leave quarantine, 10 days after being diagnosed, and will not require any further examination.

Patients who had symptoms but do not know exactly when they began will be considered to have recovered 10 days after they were diagnosed, plus three additional days to ensure that they do not have symptoms.

The ministry notes that the isolation period for those who had exposure to a confirmed patient or return from abroad has not changed, and still stands at 14 full days.

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