Global cases of the novel coronavirus crossed the 8 million mark on Monday, as infections surge in Latin America and the United States and China grapple with fresh outbreaks.
The United States still leads the world with the highest number of infections, about 2 million or 25% of all reported cases. However, the outbreak is growing fastest in Latin America, which now accounts for 21% of all cases.
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Brazil's COVID-19 cases and deaths have surged to make it the No.2 hot spot in the world.
SARS-CoV-2, the pathogen that is the source of the COVID-19 pandemic, has so far claimed 434,204 lives worldwide. According to the World Health Organization, 8,118,908 have been infected and 4,231,648 paients have recovered.
Israel, which has been able to keep the pandemic largely at bay thanks to strict restrictions imposed on the public and the economy, has been experiencing a disconcerting uptick in the number of diagnosed cases over the past week.
The Health Ministry said on Monday that at least 182 coronavirus cases have been confirmed nationwide in the span of 24 hours.
Since mid-March, some 19,338 Israelis have been diagnosed with COVID-19, which has killed 302 Israelites. As of Monday, 27 patients were in serious condition, and 15,438 patients have recovered.
Many of the new cases have been traced back to Tel Aviv area, especially in the Jaffa neighborhood of Ajami and the Levinsky street market, where the infection rate is twice as high as the national average.
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Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel's economy has returned to running nearly on all cylinders despite the devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
In an address delivered from the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, Netanyahu said that "90% of our economy is working again and we continue to move forward," but stressed the importance of respecting sanitary measures recommended by the Health Ministry, including wearing a mask, social distancing, and frequent hand washing.
