Coronavirus Cases Pass 4,000 Mark

As an hours-long coronavirus cabinet meeting continued on Thursday night to set the course for the coming days, the Health Ministry announced that a total of 4,015 new coronavirus cases were recorded since Wednesday night, the first time that daily cases have passed the 4,000 mark.

The death toll from the virus has reached 1,075, up 22 from Wednesday, also a new record.

In total, there have been 144, 267 cases of coronavirus in Israel.

The number of patients in serious condition stands at 488, 143 of them on ventilators, matching the highest number so far.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said in a statement issued during the cabinet session that “Prof. Gamzu and the heads of the hospitals came to the coronavirus cabinet today and waved a red flag.”

“They said that although the number of serious patients in Israel is still relatively low, it can change in an instant, then the hospitals will not be able to treat them and there will be many serious [cases] and many dead,” he said.

“They say that action must be taken,” Netanyahu continued, “but we must take action carefully, not recklessly, so it takes many hours, and on the other hand [we must make a decision] early enough so that we can all get organized for the Chagim.”