The Health Ministry reported Wednesday a record-breaking number of new coronavirus infections: of the 100,694 tests it conducted the day before, 10,022 came back positive, raising the infection rate to a staggering 10.2%.
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There are currently 81,250 active patients in the country, 1,924 are hospitalized, 356 are in critical condition. The death toll stands at 4,060.
According to a report by the Intelligence Division, not only does Israel rank first in the world in the number of people vaccinated, but it also leads in the number of daily new cases in relation to its population.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Yuli Edelstein announced Wednesday morning that there'd been a new record in the number of Israelis vaccinated in one day – 186,000 people.
"In Israel, 2.2 million people have already received the first vaccination, and 422 thousand have received both. This is how we defeat the coronavirus," the minister said.
Coronavirus chief Professor Nachman Ash warned that hospitals would not be able to maintain such a load of new patients for much longer, and therefore the number of critically ill patients must be reduced.
"The recommendation is to extend the lockdown for another two weeks," he said in an interview. "The number of verified cases is extremely worrying. I hope this is a one-time phenomenon."
As for the mutations, Prof. Ash said that worries about the varients' possible resistance to the vaccine is theoretical, and more research is being conducted on the matter.
The chief also addressed the rising number of pregnant women who are hospitalized in serious or critical condition. It is unclear whether it's the result of the rise in morbidity, a new mutation, or a different reason altogether.
Doctors recommend that pregnant and breastfeeding women who would like to get vaccinated, especially if they are in the at-risk group, should be allowed to do so.
Obstetrics associations are calling on pregnant women to get inoculated, as being infected by the coronavirus while pregnant can cause more severe illnesses during pregnancy and even preterm birth.
"It is important to go get vaccinated during pregnancy and before," said the Director of the Infectious Disease Epidemiology Unit at Sheba Medical Center Gili Regev-Yochay.
"The recommendation is to vaccinate pregnant women, especially if they are at risk or suffer from diseases that might cause serious illnesses," said Dr. Ortal Neeman from the Assuta Ashdod Hospital's gynecology and obstetrics department.
"The information on the safety of the vaccine during pregnancy is limited due to the fact that no pregnant women were included in the clinical trials."
In addition, fertility experts say that the vaccine doesn't affect male or female fertility, so couples who are in infertility treatments should not hold back from getting vaccinated either.
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