Israel’s COVID Positivity Rate Now Under 1%

Israel’s daily percentage of positive coronavirus tests fell below 1% on Monday, the Health Ministry said Tuesday.

Out of the 42,328 tests conducted Monday, just 0.9% returned positive, the ministry said.

There has been a dramatic fall in the percentage of positive tests as the impact of Israel’s massive vaccine campaign becomes more obvious. At the beginning of March, for example, the positivity rate stood at 9.3%.

Out of over 42,000 tests conducted on Monday, only 356 returned positive.

The number of active infections in the country is now just above 8,000, with only 638 patients currently in hospitals.

Out of those, 423 are in a serious state, including 206 people in need of artificial lung ventilation and 226 patients in a severe state.

Israel’s death toll, as of Tuesday morning, stands at 6,188 – an apparent revision of the tally given in the release early on Monday, which put the figure at 6,194.

Some 5,229,000 Israelis have now received at least one vaccine shot, and almost 4,750,000 have been fully vaccinated.

The new release comes as Israel continues to ease the restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the disease, with the Taba border crossing with Egypt opening on Tuesday.

Only those vaccinated will be able to make use of it at the current stage, and the crossings will be limited to 300 people per day in each direction.

Meanwhile, the Health Ministry clarified that in Israel there is stock only for the current round of vaccines.

“There is an important need to purchase millions of additional vaccines to prepare for various scenarios such as booster dose, vaccination of children over the age of 12 (after studies and the FDA approve it), and the provision of vaccines that are resistant to variants that may arrive.

“Thanks to vaccines, Israel is the first to emerge from the coronavirus crisis. Thanks to the procurement we seek to make, Israel will continue to be the most protected country in the world from corona. One of the most important purchases a country can make at this time should not be taken lightly,” said the Health Ministry in a statement.