Israel's reproduction rate continues to drop, according to Health Ministry data released Wednesday, and now stands at 0.59.
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Of the 41,443 tests the ministry conducted the day before, 679 came back positive, placing the infection rate at 1.7%.
There are currently 14,403 active cases in Israel. Some 762 Israelis are hospitalized, 500 are in serious condition, and 207 are on ventilators.
Of those hospitalized, 74% are not vaccinated, 15% have received their first jab, and 11% have been fully vaccinated. Of those on ventilators, 76% are not vaccinated, 16% have been partially vaccinated, and 8% have been fully inoculated.
Nineteen children under the age of 18 are hospitalized, among them are three newborns. Of those, one is in critical condition, five are in serious condition, and the rest exhibit minor symptoms.
Twelve pregnant women are hospitalized, and nine women who gave birth tested positive for the virus. Three of the women are on ventilators, and one is connected to an ECMO machine. None of them are fully vaccinated.
Israel has reported 829,832 cases and 6,131 deaths since the outbreak of the pandemic last year. To date, 809,298 Israelis recovered from the virus.
As for the vaccination drive, 5,191,761 Israelis have received their first jab, and 4,608,229 Israelis have been fully vaccinated, which constitutes 49.55% of the population. Together with those who recovered from COVID, almost six million Israelis have antibodies against the virus.
Meanwhile, the Military Intelligence Directorate reported that several countries are experiencing spikes in infection rates.
"There is a morbidity spike in Brazil, where the Brazilian mutation that was identified in the city of Manaus is spreading throughout the country. Infection spikes are recorded in Eastern Europe, with the British variant is expanding across the continent. In New York, USA, a new variant of the virus continues to spread and carries a mutation that has been linked to reinfecting those who had already recovered [from COVID.] A significant outbreak of the virus is also detected in Jordan these days."
The mutations are being researched by scientists, as they might have the ability to continue to mutate and not only reinfect those who had already recovered from the virus but also weaken the effects of the vaccine.
"Therefore, the recommendation is to minimize as much as possible the various mutations that are brought to Israel from abroad as well as variants that have already been identified in Israel, such as the South African mutation, that hasn't spread widely yet, and therefore its significant spread can be prevented in Israel through the supervised entrance to Israel, and joint efforts in testing, isolation, and responsible behavior to minimize the risk."
The directorate recommends that Israelis who return from abroad be cautious, even with family members and get tested for COVID even if at the airport their test results were negative.
As far as is known, the Pfizer vaccine seems to be effective against the South African strain, at least for preventing severe illness, the directorate added.
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