Israel's coronavirus infection rate stands at 0.68%, according to Health Ministry data. Of the 74,286 Israelis who tested for the virus Sunday, 472 were found to have contracted the disease.
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There are 7,823 active cases of the virus in the country. There are 219 people in serious condition, 130 of whom are on ventilators.
Although 1,311,639 Israelis have recovered from the virus since the outbreak of the pandemic, 8,100 have died.
On the vaccination front, 6,237,223 Israelis have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, while 5,731,677 have received two doses. Nearly 4 million Israelis – 3,954,003 – have received all three available doses of the vaccine.
With health officials seemingly poised to approve the use of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine in children aged 5 to 12 in a vote early next week, coronavirus chief Salman Zarka said vaccinated children would not require a PCR test to enter a facility operating in accordance with the Green Pass system while the unvaccinated would still be able to get tested for free.
"In the first stage, we will not make any changes to the Green Pass because we need to exhaust the vaccination campaign," Zarka told Israel Hayom.
"I see this is as a process that includes diplomacy, dialogue with parents, including the possibility of meeting with a pediatrician through their healthcare provider. In the first stage, this process must be exhausted. I don't like this dialogue that we won't allow free testing. We're not there. We are in a situation in which morbidity is on the decline. I believe a significant portion of the public, over 50%, believe vaccination is correct and will want to protect their children as well as spare them quarantine and antigen testing, which is a restrictive thing for children. Right now, we aren't discussing the testing issue. In the first stage, they will continue to be tested for free, and we will wait to exhaust diplomacy."
As for the school system, Zarka said, "It's important to remember that are children – almost 32,000 – quarantining at home today; or in the green class, if there are more than three positive children, the students go home and get tested. I hear from friends how difficult this is. It's not easy for parents, it's a tough task for kids, and exhausting, and here, too, the vaccine can help."
Meanwhile, Israelis looking to fly out of the country can expect to pay more for PCR tests as Pangea takes over PCR testing at Ben-Gurion Airport, according to a report in financial daily Globes.
While the Omega Company charged 40 shekels (around $12.75) per coronavirus test, Pangea will charge 89 (around $28.40). Rapid tests carried out by Omega cost passengers 120 shekels ($38.30). Rapid testing through Pangea will now set Israelis back 149 shekels ($47.55), according to the Globes report.
China, meanwhile, has dismissed a recent US intelligence report that found the coronavirus could have originated in a laboratory setting as "unscientific." The declassified report "has no credibility," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said in a statement on Sunday.
Published Saturday, the report concluded both natural origin and a lab leak were plausible hypotheses to explain how SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, first infected humans, but that the truth may never be known.
Wang responded to the report by saying, "A lie repeated a thousand times is still a lie."
US intelligence services "have a reputation for fraud and deception," the Chinese official said.
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