Israel's daily tally of coronavirus deaths per capita has surpassed that of the United States on Tuesday, for the first time since the onset of the global pandemic.
According to a report by a task force formed by the IDF's Military Intelligence Directorate, the number of Israelis who test positive for corona on a daily basis in currently the highest in the world.
While Israel was praised for quelling the outbreak successfully when it first hit, recent weeks have seen morbidity and mortality spike, requiring the government to impose a second nationwide lockdown in an effort to curb the spread of the virus.
As of Tuesday, Israel has recorded 233,554 confirmed cases including 1,507 deaths. Some 165,191 Israelis have recovered from the disease.
The daily deaths per capita are calculated by the task force as an average of the last week. According to the data, Israel's daily death rate over the last week has been 3.5 per million people, while the US rate was some 2.2 per million.
Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said Tuesday that it was highly likely that the nationwide lockdown imposed throughout the High Holidays will be extended past its current Oct. 10 deadline.
Speaking with Israel Radio, Edelstein made it clear that this time, lockdown measured would be lifted much more gradually than in May.
"The lockdown will not be lifted unequivocally. There is no scenario that in 10 days we will lift all of them [the restrictions] and say, 'everything is over, everything is fine,"' he said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday evening cthat the government was preparing the country's healthcare system to accommodate some 1,500 seriously ill coronavirus patients in the coming days.
