9,000 New Coronavirus Cases for Second Straight Day; Lockdown May Be Extended

The Health Ministry on Wednesday morning said that 9,025 new coronavirus cases had been confirmed in the previous 24 hours. This is the second straight day that new daily cases in Israel have surpassed 9,000.

After 127,768 tests were conducted, the positivity rate stood at 7.2%.

There are currently 1,042 people in serious condition being treated in hospitals, with 262 of them on ventilators.

Since the start of the pandemic, 3,770 Israelis have succumbed to the virus. On Tuesday alone, 26 people died from complications of COVID-19.

Ninety-nine people have succumbed to the virus since the beginning of January. In December, 428 people died from COVID-19 and in November, 313 people succumbed to the virus.

Israel currently has 78,215 active cases of coronavirus.

Due to the high number of cases and the amount of seriously ill in hospitals, the Health Ministry said it would request a one-week extension of the strict lockdown that has been in effect since midnight last Thursday and was expected to last for two weeks.

The ministry is also said to be preparing an exit strategy for the lockdown that will include three phases. First to reopen would be educational institutions, while restaurants and gyms would resume operations only in the final phase.