Israel’s ‘Red’ COVID Hotspots Drop From 34 to Nine in Two Weeks

The Health Ministry on Monday morning reported that in just two weeks, the number of Israel’s “red” COVID hotspots dropped from 34 to nine – another sign that the country’s current infection wave is continuing to decline.

Yerushalayim, the largest city in the country, is the only city to report over 1,000 active cases, compared to 16 last month.

The ministry also reported that Israel’s coronavirus contagion rate dropped to below 2% for the second straight day.

With 78,787 tests conducted on Sunday and 1,457 returning positive, the contagion rate stands at 1.88%

There are currently 447 coronavirus patients hospitalized in serious condition receiving treatment across the country’s hospitals, with 186 of them on ventilators.

The nation’s “R” number – which indicates how many people on average a single COVID patient infects – has also decreased and now stands at 0.7.

The number of people in Israel who died due to COVID-19-related complications since the start of the pandemic rose by four to 7,920. Three of them were unvaccinated and one had received the booster.