Israel on Monday surpassed 3,000 fatalities as the result of COVID-19 with the national death toll reaching 3,004.
The health ministry said that 1,444 new coronavirus cases were confirmed since midnight out of some 45,000 tests were conducted, meaning 3.2% of all tests returned positive.
As of Monday evening, 680 people are battling the virus in hospitals. There are 375 patients in serious condition, among them 100 patients on ventilators.
There were 17,745 active carriers of coronavirus, 2,950 of which were from Jerusalem which continues to lead the country in cases.
Earlier on Monday, the Israel Institute for Biological Research that has been developing a coronavirus vaccine announced it had completed phase one of clinical trials and was set to begin phase two having received the Health Ministry's authorization.
The trial will include 1,000 volunteers and will be conducted first at the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem and at the Sheba Medical Center near Tel Aviv before expanding to other hospitals around the country.
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The coronavirus vaccine developed by the Israel Institute for Biological Research
(Photo: Defense Ministry spokesperson)
Phase two will span a number of months and if successful will continue on to phase three which will include 30,000 people in Israel and abroad.
The Pfizer vaccine, meanwhile, will be rolled out next week with health workers first in line to receive starting Sunday, December 20, followed by the elderly and risk groups that will be vaccinated starting December 27.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced he will also be among the first to receive the shot along with Health Minister Yuli Edelstein.