The number of coronavirus patients in need of ventilator support has almost reached 100, Israeli health officials said Wednesday evening.
The Health Ministry said the number of COVID-19 patients in a serious condition has increased to 328, of which 99 are ventilated.
The ministry said since midnight Wednesday, 1,149 people tested positive for coronavirus in the country, bringing the tally of active patients to 34,521.
Five more patients have died from coronavirus-related complications since midnight, bringing the national death toll to 491.
Earlier, the ministry said that on Tuesday, 2,104 people tested positive for COVID-19. With 26,983 tests conducted, the infection rate now stands at 8.4%.
The tally represents the biggest new daily count of virus patients since the start of the outbreak in Israel.
Jerusalem still boasts the highest number of active patients, with 5,114 cases, followed by Bnei Brak with 2,557, Tel Aviv with 1,780 and Petah Tikva with 1,007.
The country's coronavirus czar Prof. Ronni Gamzu presented on Tuesday the key aspects of his "Magen Israel" (Israel Protector) plan which aims to curb the spread of the disease resurging across the country.
Gamzu said that as part of his plan, the country's contact tracing program will now be handled by the IDF, which has "the technology, the tools, the ability,” adding that this is "at the heart of stopping the pandemic.
Virus testing will be increased to 60,000 people per day within the next two months and ultimately up to 100,000 by winter.