The Health Ministry on Monday said that Israel has recorded 268,175 coronavirus cases since the pandemic began in mid-March.
The number of new corona cases diagnosed since Sunday stood at fewer than 3,000, noting that 11.7% of the 26,332 people who were screened tested positive for the virus.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
Screening reached a record high in September, with an average of between 50,000 and 60,000 daily tests, but has steadily declined since.
So far, 1,719 COVID patients have died, while 201,392 have recovered from the disease.
Ministry officials noted that the ratio of positive corona tests has been steadily declining for about a week, but the IDF's National Coronavirus Information Center reiterated its position that the positive test rate was still relatively high.
Data released on Sunday showed that the infection rate among the general public stands at about 10%, compared to 13% in the Arab sector and 28% in the Haredi community.
The figures indicate "a much wider scope of morbidity than actually detected," the IDF said.
On Sunday, Health Ministry Director-General Professor Hezi Levy expressed cautious optimism that, as both the number of new daily cases and the positive rate of tests were have been steadily declining, the second coronavirus outbreak could be slowing down.
The so-called coronavirus cabinet was scheduled to debate the lockdown measures on Monday afternoon.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
