Israel Hits New Record High With 9,589 New COVID-19 Cases

According to Health Ministry data, Israel saw its highest ever daily infection rate on Monday, with 9,589 new coronavirus diagnoses despite the stringent lockdown that has been in place since Thursday, and around two weeks of restrictions in some form.

Some 127,000 virus tests were carried out across the country on Monday, giving a positivity rate of 7.6%.

Israel on Monday also crossed the threshold of half a million coronavirus infections since the start of the outbreak , becoming the 29th country in the world to do so.

There are currently 1,759 COVID-19 patients in hospitals across Israel, with 1,027 of them in serious condition, including 247 patients who are connected to ventilators.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, 3,704 Israelis have succumbed to the virus, including 19 on Monday.

With the continuing rise in coronavirus infections and deaths, Israel’s hospitals are reporting overcrowded wards, overworked staff and a lack of manpower due to quarantine and infections.

As of Tuesday morning, there were 74,639 active cases in Israel, of which 14,650 were in Yerushalayim, 3,880 in Bnei Brak, 3,002 in Modi’in Illit, 2,265 in Beit Shemesh, 2,109 in Tel Aviv-Jaffa, 1,983 in Petach Tikva and 1,956 in Haifa.

There are currently no “green” cities with a low infection rate in Israel.

The national vaccine campaign has also picked up speed after a few days of lull following the delivery of new doses from both Moderna and Pfizer. The Health Ministry said that as of Tuesday morning, 1,854,055 people have already received the first dose of the vaccine – 20.9% of the population.

The country has also begun to administer the second dose of the vaccine, which after one week is supposed to provide around 95% immunity to the virus.

The speed with which Israel has rolled out its vaccination campaign has made it the world leader.