Kids Under 11 Account for 40 Percent of New Covid Cases

Israeli schoolchildren under the age of 11, too young to be vaccinated, now account for some forty percent of all the new cases of coronavirus diagnosed on Wednesday, Ynet reported.

The Health Ministry said on Thursday that 2,377 new cases were detected the day before, when 105,000 tests were conducted, indicating a 2.3% positivity rate.

At the same time, though, the number of kids in isolation fell to 90,539 – of which 17,051 were infected by the virus and 73,488 were quarantined due to exposure to a COVID patient.

A drop was also noted in the nation’s R number – which indicates how many people on average are infected by a single COVID patient – which now stands at 0.78.

Out of 33,808 active patients, 475 are in serious condition, with 200 connected to ventilators. The death toll since the start of the pandemic rose to 7,862.

The Health Ministry noted that 69% of all COVID cases diagnosed Wednesday, were people who were unvaccinated, while 23% had received the second two doses over six months ago, and 4% received both doses as well as the booster.

Data further shows that out of every 100,000 patients in serious condition aged 60 and under, 6.3 have not been vaccinated, 1 received only two doses, and 0.3 received both doses and the booster.

Meanwhile, a 6-month-old baby was hospitalized in serious condition after testing positive for the coronavirus, according to media reports on Thursday.

The baby is being treated at the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer, where it is attached to an ECMO machine, which provides cardiac and respiratory support.

The baby reportedly has symptoms similar to others who have recovered from the coronavirus, known as PIMS, or pediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome, with a persistent fever and inflammation.