Israel’s Infection Rate Continues to Decline; Corona Cabinet to Convene

3,097 new cases of the coronavirus were diagnosed across Israel on Monday, according to the Health Ministry’s report on  Tuesday morning, bringing the total number of cases in Israel since the pandemic began to 295,037.

There are currently 51,250 active cases of the virus in Israel, including 1,483 hospitalized patients.

801 patients are listed in serious condition. There are 242 patients on respirators as of Tuesday morning.

The number of patients in serious condition fell sharply Tuesday, dropping from 827 on Monday and 846 on Sunday.

In addition, the percentage of tests which came back positive continues to decline, falling to 7.0% Monday, down from 7.7% Sunday, 7.4% on Shabbos, and 8.4% Friday.

The Coronavirus Cabinet is set to convene Tuesday afternoon to deliberate on the implementation of the Health Ministry’s plan for a gradual exit from the lockdown.

The Cabinet is to discuss the reopening of preschools and kindergartens.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has said that he prefers to delay implementation of the first stage of the exit strategy, pushing off the easing of restrictions until the Health Ministry’s targets for declines in the coronavirus infection rate have been met.

Yet the Health Ministry currently backs moving forward with the plan to gradually reduce restrictions, starting next week.

While the Cabinet is set to deliberate Tuesday, no decision is expected until Thursday.