The number of new coronavirus cases confirmed daily in Israel remains high, with 2,001 of the 26,983 tests processed between midnight Sunday and midnight Monday coming back positive, the Corona National Knowledge and Information Center reported Tuesday.
The 2,001 positive results represented 7.7% percent of the tests for that 24-hours period, a drop of 1.5% in positive results compared to the previous 24 hours.
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As of Tuesday, there were 32,052 symptomatic coronavirus cases in Israel, 321 of whom were hospitalized and listed in serious condition, with 97 patients on ventilators. A total of 480 people have died of COVID since the start of the epidemic in Israel.
Most of the dedicated coronavirus units set up in the country's hospitals are at or near capacity, with the exception of the unit at Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer, which is 86% full.
Six months after the World Health Organization declared COVID an international public health emergency, over 650,011 people have died of the virus worldwide, with 100,000 of the deaths occurring since July 9.
The WHO plans to meet later this week to discuss the crisis, as officials across the globe reintroduce restrictions ranging from closing beaches to shutdowns in an attempt to stem the spread of the virus in their countries.
Meanwhile, Professor Ronni Gamzu, the coordinator of the government's efforts to battle the spread of coronavirus, was due to present a plan on Tuesday to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and later on to Health Minister Yuli Edelstein.
When Gamzu took on the role of national corona coordinator, he announced that he intended to defeat the virus without instituting shutdowns.
Gamzu's plan is based on data from experts and from Israel's hospitals that will pre-determine what steps the government takes to instate and/or lift restrictions on public activities. Vital components of the plan include government PR outreach and steps to make the process of COVID testing, contact tracing, and quarantine faster and more efficient.
Gamzu has already founded a forum known as the "Doctors' Barometer," which will include medical and nursing teams from all the major hospitals in Israel. The teams will submit biweekly data regarding the number of coronavirus patients and patients in serious condition they are treating, as well as on the condition of the teams and the hospitals' ability to operate as usual while providing care to COVID patients.
According to Gamzu's plan, debates about whether or not to open specific facilities, such as gyms or public pools, will be replaced by an orderly warning system that will serve as a guideline for whether a given activity may continue or will be shut down. Any changes will be made according to predetermined criteria about the number of corona cases nationwide, with the goal of presenting clear and unified standards for public activities.
Parts of this article were originally published by i24NEWS.
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