Health Ministry: Over 10% of Population Caught COVID in January

Some 983,000 Israelis have tested positive for coronavirus since the start of January, the Health Ministry reported Monday morning, accounting for over 10% of the country’s population.

Meanwhile, 67,198 new virus cases have been detected over the past 24 hours.

Hospitals were treating 2,181 COVID-19 patients, 783 of whom were in serious condition.

Yerushalayim has the most active coronavirus cases, with the capital reporting 41,463 active patients, followed by Tel Aviv with 24,054 cases, Petach Tikva with 17,238, Rishon LeTzion with 14,587 and Be’er Sheva with 13,896 cases.

Meanwhile, a senior health expert said on Monday he believed some three million Israelis came down with coronavirus since the beginning of the country’s omicron fifth wave.

“This places Israel first [in the world] this week in terms of infections,” said Prof. Eran Segal — a scientist advising the government on its pandemic response and creator of the Weizmann Institute of Science’s coronavirus prediction model — adding that the fifth wave is expected to abate soon.

“The disease progressed in Israel the same way it progressed in other countries. This week, infections are also expected to begin declining. We are already seeing a decrease in those aged 60 plus.”