Israel Sees Overall Drop in Virus Spread; 2,331 New Cases

The Health Ministry said on Monday that the coronavirus spread had dropped across the country.

The country’s overall basic reproduction number (R) has fallen from 1.02 to 0.99.

The ministry said that on Sunday 2,331 people tested positive for COVID-19 after 65,036 tests had been conducted, putting the contagion rate at 3.7% – the lowest the figure has been in recent months.

At least 708 patients are in serious condition, of whom 223 are ventilated. The official death toll now stands at 5,899.

The ministry added that so far 4,960,396 Israelis have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, while 3,789,118 have been given both.

Half of Israel’s serious coronavirus patients are from the Arab Israeli community, where the vaccination rates are the lowest, according to a Channel 12 report.

Arab Israelis make up around 21% of Israel’s population.

Despite the overall decline in severity of Israel’s third-wave outbreak, coronavirus commissioner Nachman Ash said Sunday that Israel could yet be forced to enter a fourth lockdown to combat the spread of the virus.