Israel Posts Highest Tally of New COVID Cases Since New Outbreak

Israel on Monday recorded its highest tally of new daily coronavirus cases since the start of the latest outbreak as the country scrambles to contain the spread of the Delta variant.

The Health Ministry said that on Sunday 343 people tested positive for COVID-19 after 49,074 tests had been conducted. The tally puts the contagion rate at 0.7%

The ministry added 68 patients are currently hospitalized with coronavirus-related complications. Of that number, 35 patients are in serious condition, while 16 are connected to ventilators.

According to the latest Health Ministry data, 57.1% of the patients in serious condition have not been not vaccinated against the virus.

In the meantime, on Sunday 17,610 people were vaccinated with the first dose, and 3,054 received the second booster shot. So far, 5,645,604 Israelis have been vaccinated with the first dose, and 5,177,756 with the second.

In a meeting at the Health Ministry on Sunday, no decision was made to provide a third vaccine for the high-risk population, but officials said they were monitoring the situation. Some doctors treating coronavirus patients urged the ministry to provide the booster shots.

A member of the ministry’s pandemic response team said he believed most physicians agree, but noted that not all immunosuppressed patients react the same to vaccines.