For the first time since the start of the current COVID wave in Israel, the number of new confirmed COVID cases in a single day exceeded 2,000, with 2,112 new cases identified in the 92,770 tests processed Monday, the Health Ministry reported Tuesday morning.
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This puts the percentage of positive tests for Monday at 2.3%, which the ministry said indicates a continued rise in the number of confirmed positives.
At the time of the ministry's morning briefing, 33,322 tests had been processed since midnight between Monday and Tuesday, resulting in 544 more confirmed cases, with the percentage of positive tests at 1.66%.
The ministry also reported that as of Tuesday morning, there were 13,147 active of symptomatic COVID cases in Israel, with 238 COVID patients hospitalized. The hospitalized patients included 138 listed in serious condition, of whom 26 were on ventilators.
Since the pandemic reached Israel in early 2020, 6,461 Israelis have died of the virus.
The Coronavirus Knowledge and Information Center pointed to the fact that the virus reproduction rate continued to rise, indicating that the number of confirmed COVID cases and symptomatic cases in the country could double within the next seven to 10 days.
Interestingly, 203 of the new cases identified on Monday were people who had recently returned from abroad, 10 of whom had visited countries designated "red" due to high rates of COVID infection. Another 77 had returned from countries for which Israel has issued a serious travel warning due to the COVID situation there, and 116 from other countries. Forty of the Israelis who tested positive had been in Greece, 17 in the US, 14 in Bulgaria, and 11 in the Republic of Georgia.
Meanwhile, the last two days have seen an uptick in vaccinations, with the number of adults and teens over 12 receiving their first vaccine doses rising from a daily average of 1,100-1,600 to a daily average of 3,500-4,000 since Sunday. The percentage of children age 12-16 who have been vaccinated stood at 29.7%.
The IDF Home Front Command warned about lengthy wait times for test results due to overburdened laboratories. The Home Front Command also said that some 2,000 contact tracers were needed to meet the needs of the latest outbreak. There are currently some 1,200 contact tracers working in Israel.
On Tuesday morning, Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz addressed the current outbreak, saying "Israel will be prepared with a stock of vaccines for everyone," should there be a need to administer booster shots of the vaccines.
"The numbers are going up and unfortunately, they can be expected to keep going up. We can't be apathetic to the issue, so we need to follow regulations carefully so we don't find ourselves in a serious situation," Horowitz said at a press briefing during a visit to the COVID unit at Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva.
"Our battle now in the Health Ministry is to make sure all the citizens of Israel receive the resources they need from the government. I am in touch with the Treasury so that the cabinet will be presented with a budget that significantly strengthens the healthcare system," he added.
Israel's increasing COVID numbers have not escaped the notice of the US government. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have issued a travel warning for "Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank" designating these areas light red or "High."
The CDC recommends that US citizens who are unvaccinated should "avoid nonessential travel to Israel."
"Travelers should follow recommendations or requirements in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza, including wearing a mask and staying six feet apart from others," the CDC warning stated.
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