Over 10,000 New COVID Daily Cases, Highest Since April

Concerns over a sixth resurgence of the COVID pandemic in Israel grew Monday, as the Health Ministry confirmed there was a dramatic rise in the number of Israelis who tested positive for the virus over the past day.

The number of new cases has been slowly edging up for weeks, with 10,202 new patients diagnosed between Sunday and Monday.

As of Sunday, 168 patients were in serious condition, and the infection rate stands at 1.32.

The Health Ministry on Monday called on hospitals to reopen their coronavirus wards, most of which were shuttered as the pandemic waned.

The ministry is also said to be considering again introducing mandatory face masks in enclosed spaces, which was lifted just last month.

Ministry Director-General Professor Nachman Ash confirmed Sunday that Israel was facing a new wave outbreak of coronavirus, which he said was caused mostly by the omicron BA-5 subvariant, which is highly contagious yet causes relatively mild symptoms in most patients.

Israel “is exercising a definite rise in positive cases and in morbidity, but not in mortality,” he stressed.

Israel was one of the first countries to launch a nationwide coronavirus vaccination campaign and has one of the highest vaccination rates in the world.