Only 5,616 New COVID-19 Cases at Staggering 9.1% Infection Rate

The Health Ministry reported Monday morning that 5,616 new daily coronavirus cases were diagnosed a day earlier, far lower than the numbers in recent days, but at a staggering 9.1% infection rate.

Over the past week the country saw an average of some 9,000 daily cases but the contagion rate remained somewhat lower. The extraordinary high infection rate might stem from limited testing conducted over the weekend.

The Health Ministry said that on Sunday they conducted 63,516 coronavirus tests, much lower than the same figure reported over the past few days.

1,130 patients are hospitalized in serious condition, including 273 of them who are ventilated.

Five more patients passed away since midnight Sunday, bringing Israel’s official death toll to 4,005 people. On Sunday alone, 24 patients lost their battle with the disease.

Since the start of January, 661 patients have passed away, the highest the figure has been since October.

There are 80,436 active patients in Israel.

In the meantime, the Health Ministry said that 2,116,257 Israelis have received the first vaccine shot since the start of the inoculation campaign, and 309,065 have already been given the second. This means that 23.81% of Israelis have received the first vaccine jab and 3.48% have already been given the second.