A total of 730 news COVID cases have been identified in the past 24 hours, the Health Ministry reported Tuesday morning, a major jump in the numbers since the start of the 4th wave in Israel.
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Since midnight between Monday and Tuesday alone 88 people have tested positive. The average number of positive test results hovers around 500 per day.
As of Tuesday morning there were 4,674 COVID carriers in Israel and 81 COVID patients hospitalized, including 46 who were listed in serious condition and 14 who were listed in critical condition. A total of 10 COVID patients were on ventilators.
The virus reproduction rate stood at 1.29, which means that every confirmed carrier is infecting an average of 1.29 other people.
Since the COVID pandemic hit Israel in early 2020, a total of 6,439 Israelis have succumbed to the virus.
Later Tuesday, the Corona cabinet was slated to meet to discuss possible COVID measures at Ben-Gurion International Airport.
The government's "traffic light" system, which ranks cities, towns, and communities red, orange, yellow, or green based on their COVID numbers, has designed five communities "red": Kfar Yona, Yehud, Shaarei Tikva, Tzofim, and Givat Bar. Six more cities and communities have been designated "orange": Hod Hasharon, Ganei Tikva, Kiryat Ono, Harish, Ornit, and Etz Efraim. A few neighborhoods of Petah Tikva, but not the city as a whole, have also been designated orange.
Meanwhile, US regulators on Monday added a new warning to Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine about links to a rare and potentially dangerous neurological reaction, but said it was not entirely clear the shot caused the problem.
The Food and Drug Administration announced the new warning, flagging reports of Guillain-Barre syndrome, an immune system disorder that can causes muscle weakness and occasionally paralysis. Health officials described the side effect as a "small possible risk" for those getting the shot.
The action comes after the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reviewed reports of about 100 people developing the syndrome after receiving the one-dose vaccine. Almost all of were hospitalized and one person died, the FDA said.
Guillain-Barre syndrome occurs when the body's immune system mistakenly attacks some of its nerve cells, causing muscle weakness and sometimes paralysis that typically is temporary. An estimated 3,000 to 6,000 people develop the syndrome each year, according to the CDC.
The number of cases reported in connection with J&J's vaccine represents a tiny fraction of the nearly 13 million Americans who have received the one-dose shot. Most cases were reported in men – many 50 years old and up – and usually about two weeks after vaccination.
J&J said in a statement it has been discussing the reports with the FDA and other health regulators around the world.
The CDC said it would ask its panel of outside vaccine experts to review the issue at an upcoming meeting.
The government said the vaccines most used in the US, made by Pfizer and Moderna, show no risk of the disorder after more than 320 million doses have been administered.
The new warning will be included in pamphlets given to people getting the J&J shot. They should seek medical attention if they experience any symptoms, which include tingling sensations, trouble walking and double vision, the FDA said.
Guillain-Barre can be triggered by a number of infections, including flu, cytomegalovirus and Zika virus. But there have been rare cases in which people develop the disorder days or weeks after receiving certain vaccines.
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