An additional 4,674 people in Israel were confirmed to have contracted the coronavirus on Tuesday, the Health Ministry reported Wednesday morning.
According to the ministry, 46,932 tests were administered Tuesday for a 10.5% positive test rate – a decrease from 11.8% Sunday and 11.5% Monday. The 10.5% positive test rate was still among the highest in the world, according to a report by the National Coronavirus Knowledge and Information Center.
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It would likely take around 90 days to reach the goal of 400 new confirmed cases per day, which the government has set as the benchmark for lifting the nationwide lockdown, the center said.
And according to a report released by the IDF on Tuesday, up to one-third of recovered patients suffer from long-term damage and ongoing symptoms even months after testing negative.
Thirty-one coronavirus-related deaths were recorded on Tuesday, along with two more fatalities reported Wednesday morning, the ministry added.
The latest fatalities push the total death toll since the pandemic began to 1,803.
Since the pandemic began, 278,585 cases of the coronavirus have been documented in Israel, including 215,181 which ended in recovery.
For the third consecutive day, new recoveries outpaced the number of newly diagnosed patients, with 6,491 coronavirus patients recovering Tuesday, compared to the aforementioned 4,674 new confirmed cases.
There are currently 61,606 active cases of the virus, including 55,407 patients being treated at home, 4,587 being treated at specially converted coronavirus hotels, and 1,612 hospitalized patients – among those 885 are in serious condition, 298 are in moderate condition and 223 are on respirators.
Since midnight between Tuesday and Wednesday, 11,282 tests have been administered, resulting in 430 positive cases.
In the meantime, government ministers overnight Tuesday extended by one week a law that heavily restricts demonstrations and indoor prayers during the current coronavirus lockdown.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there was cause for "cautious optimism" that the country was on the way to exiting the second wave but said that despite the positive signs, he would not be rushing to lift the nationwide lockdown.
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