Israel will record 5,000 deaths by the end of February, according to a new report by Hebrew University researchers on the spread of the coronavirus published Thursday.
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The number is 10 times the researchers, Hebrew University Professors Yinon Askenazy, Doron Gazit, and Nadav Katz from the university's physics department and Professors Ronit Calderon and Ran Nir-Paz, both from the university's School of Public Health and Community Medicine and Hadassah Medical Center, predicted in December.
As of Thursday, 3,892 have died of the virus, with an average of 50 people dying of COVID-19 daily in recent weeks.
Israel's infection rate stood at 7.7%, as 9,192 of the 123,111 people who tested for COVID-19 were found to be positive. There are 1,141 people in serious condition, 291 of whom are on ventilators. Israel currently has 79,084 active cases.
According to Health Ministry data, 1,992,806 Israelis received the first dose of a coronavirus vaccine by Thursday, with 169,707 having received the second dose of the vaccine.
Yet even with the success of Israel's vaccination campaign and the imposition of Israel's third tightened lockdown, hospitals are expected to see a sharp increase of another 180 seriously ill patients in the coming weeks.
According to Health Ministry models, extending the lockdown by another two weeks will save the lives of between 200 and 400 people and enable the government to meet its goal of bringing the infection rate down to below 1,000 new cases a day.
To contend with the situation, Hebrew University of Jerusalem experts recommend the vaccination campaign be ramped up and for the lockdown to remain in place until at least Jan. 21.
With morbidity on the rise in Israel's third wave of the coronavirus outbreak, the Health Ministry has authorized the use of an antibody therapy found to be effective at lowering the risk of serious illness in coronavirus patients.
The Health Ministry has already imported 400 doses of bamlanivimab, which is administered in a single dose through intravenous infusion. The ministry is set to receive another 600 doses.
Bamlanivimab is administered only under medical supervision in hospitals. The first dose was administered to a dialysis patient at Meir Medical Center in Kfar Saba.
Israel Hayom has learned that several hospitals, among them the Sheba, Sourasky, Emek, Kaplan, and Assuta Medical Centers.
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