Israel's coronavirus infection rate climbed to 5.02% Friday, as 6,083 of the 129,509 people who tested for the virus Thursday were found to have the disease.

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Over half of Thursday's confirmed cases, 53%, were identified in individuals who had been vaccinated for the disease, the Health Ministry said, while 43% of those who tested positive were unvaccinated. Two percent were in the process of inoculation, while 1% had already recovered from the virus. None of the new cases were identified among individuals who had recovered from the virus and received at least one dose of the vaccine.

According to Health Ministry data released Friday, Israel now has 44,188 active cases of the virus. There are 462 people in serious condition, the highest number Israel has seen since mid-March. Seventy-five of those in serious condition are on ventilators.

Although at least 876, 090 Israelis have recovered from the virus, 6,611 have died.

Israel now has 86 "red" localities, according to the government's traffic-light program for ranking communities according to coronavirus infection rates.

Overnight Thursday, Health Ministry Director-General Nachman Ash informed the heads of Israel's four healthcare providers of his decision to implement the recommendation of an expert team advising the government on the pandemic to allow Israelis aged 50 and over to receive a third dose of the coronavirus vaccine. Employees in Israel's healthcare system, high-risk individuals, and prisoners and prison wardens will also be eligible for the booster shot.

The government approved a third dose of the vaccine for Israelis over age 60 in late July.

At a press conference Thursday, Ash said he was concerned the outbreak was worsening despite the government authorizing new restrictions to rein in the spread of the virus.

"The number of confirmed cases is reaching new heights every day, and the situation is definitely worrying. Yesterday, the cabinet approved a number of steps, and we hope they will be effective. We must not remain indifferent to the morbidity data, and we must not be complacent. Adherence to the guidelines is essential. When we adhere to the guidelines – mask-wearing, the Green Pass, maintaining quarantine – together we can succeed in getting through this."

"Over 700,000 people over the age of 60 have been vaccinated with a third dose so far, but there is still a long way to go for this to be a success. There are a million people who have yet to be vaccinated with the first dose. Go out and get vaccinated," he implored.

"The State of Israel is a global pioneer in administering the third vaccine [dose]. That is why we want to examine the third dose for younger ages as well, and the decision will be made seriously and after much consideration."

Public Security Minister Omer Bar-Lev meanwhile has ordered increased enforcement of coronavirus guidelines by police. In a joint statement Thursday, the Prime Minister's Office and the Public Security Ministry announced police had issued 2,063 tickets to Israelis who either violated quarantine or were not wearing masks in accordance with government guidelines.

On Twitter, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett warned of further restrictions. "We are ramping up enforcement with all our might: In cooperation with Public Security Minister Omer Bar-Lev, we ordered an increased enforcement campaign across the country. Just yesterday, the Israel Police issued 2,064 fines [an increase of around 400% compared to the beginning of the week].

He called vaccines "the most important tool, and they are our 'Iron Dome' against the coronavirus. I am happy to see Israel's citizens are indeed taking responsibility and going to get vaccinated. But the masks and quarantines are also necessary tools to prevent the spread of the Delta [variant]. The loosening up with maintaining the guidelines threatens the health and livelihood of everyone. Getting ticketed is unpleasant, but we will continue to do so as long as necessary, for the routine, economy, and health of us all. Wear masks, adhere to the guidelines, and go and get vaccinated!" he tweeted.

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Israel's coronavirus infection rate stood at 4.62% Thursday, as 5,946 of the 139,043 people who tested for the virus were found to have the disease.

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Israel has 42,203 active cases. There are 421 Israelis in serious condition, 65 of whom are on ventilators.

Although 872,167 people have recovered from the virus, 6,593 have died.

Among the over 5.4 million Israelis that have received two doses of the coronavirus vaccine, over 716,500 have received a third booster dose.

According to a report by Channel 12 News, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Thursday morning advised the heads of Israel's four healthcare providers to prepare for the expansion of Israelis eligible to receive a third vaccine dose next week. Currently, only Israelis aged 60 and over, those suffering from a chronic illness, and medical workers are eligible for a third dose.

"Our goal was and continues to be to contend with the delta, without destructive harm to the economy, as much as possible," he said, encouraging vaccination as the best means to fight the pandemic.

To contend with rising infection numbers, the so-called "coronavirus cabinet" on Wednesday moved to further tighten the Green Pass system to restrict entry to vaccinated individuals or those who have either recovered from the virus or tested negative within 72 hours to all businesses and events outside of shopping malls and reimposed the Purple Badge system for limiting the number of people allowed in stores or workplaces that take customers.

Up to 50 people will be allowed to attend private, indoor events, while up to 100 will be allowed at outdoor, private events.

Despite moves to bolster the health system, coronavirus cabinet member Professor Ran Belicer presented findings at the meeting that pointed to the healthcare system potentially being overwhelmed in September. Professor Eran Segal of the Weizmann Institute, another member of the committee, was more optimistic. He said that if a third vaccine dose proved effective, this could keep hospitals from being overwhelmed.

Meanwhile, members of the Likud and National Religious Party have spoken out against reports a secret agreement has been made between hospital directors and the Health Ministry. According to the agreement, hospitals could hire hundreds of medical workers but would not be able to go to the media if they were overwhelmed with seriously ill patients.

On Twitter, Likud Galit Distel Atbaryan wrote: "Using veterinarians. [Medical worker] slots in return for silence. Dealing with the dead. Bennett is desperate and shooting in all directions. He's in over his head. And this is dangerous for us. Very dangerous."

Also on Thursday, Opposition Leader Benjamin Netanyahu criticized Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked's comments Tuesday that the public needed to brace for dealing with epidemic-related deaths.

"We have to be able to deal with having patients who are in serious condition, as well as deaths because this is a pandemic and in a pandemic – people die. This is happening all over the world," she told Channel 13 News.

In a video posted to social media by Netanyahu's Likud party, the former premier said: Naftali and Ayelet, have you gone crazy? … Instead of dealing with the deaths, you need to save lives. But because of your experience and shirking responsibility, you have wasted the precious time you had to save lives. You've wasted seven weeks too many," Netanyahu said, a reference to his call for Israel to import millions of doses of coronavirus vaccines the country had already paid for and administer a third dose to the country's citizens.

"Bennett, you wasted precious time, and Israel's citizens are paying the price …" Addressing the coalition government, he said: You've gone off the rails. Go home."

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Israel's coronavirus infection rate stood at 3.17% Sunday, as 2,080 of the 73,710 people who tested for COVID-19 were found to be infected Monday.

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There are 18,775 active cases of the virus, 212 of which are serious. Of those in serious condition, 37 are on ventilators.

Although have 849,447 people have recovered from the virus, 6,474 have died.

For the first time since the fourth wave, Israel has seven "red" cities, according to the government's traffic-light program for ranking localities based on infection rates.

With Israel approving a third dose of the coronavirus vaccine for Israelis aged 60 and over Thursday, healthcare providers reported high demand for the booster shot, with some 8%, or around 25,000 people, of those eligible having scheduled appointments thus far.

On Sunday, Health Ministry Director-General Nachman Ash said the government was not looking into expanding the eligibility of other age groups for a third dose at this time. "There are other populations who were vaccinated earlier on, for example, in the medical profession, some of whom are under age 60. In another two weeks, we will re-examine [the issue].

Ash on Saturday evening announced "the campaign to vaccinate those aged 60 and over with a third dose has kicked off. This is an important step we in the State of Israel are taking, which is aimed at protecting the elderly population from infection with the coronavirus and serious illness. I call on those who belong to this age group to go and get vaccinated."

He noted that "according to a number of reports, there are citizens who are choosing to take a serological test to discover the level of antibodies in their bodies, and based on the results, decide whether to get vaccinated. I want to emphasize – there's no need for that. Such a test could create confusion. There is no medical justification for conditioning the decision of whether to get vaccinated on the result of a serological test.

Ash said that regardless of whether it was the first, second, or third dose, he called on the public to "go and get vaccinated. The vaccine has been proven to be the most efficient tool in our war on the pandemic and to bring down morbidity data. Through a higher vaccination rate in the public, we can maintain our routine lives, open up the school year and celebrate the holidays together."

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