Israel on Thursday once again saw over 8,000 new daily coronavirus cases diagnosed a day earlier, while the number of ventilated patients reached another record high.
The Health Ministry said that on Wednesday 8,174 people tested positive for COVID-19 after 93,283 tests had been conducted, placing the contagion rate at 9%. The ministry added, however, that the coefficient of infection has fallen below 1 for the first time since October.
The ministry also said 1,132 patients are in serious condition, of whom 317 are ventilated, another record high and an increase of nine from the same figure a day earlier.
The official death toll now stands at 4,179 after another 21 patients passed away from the disease on Wednesday. Since the start of this week, 167 Israelis lost their battle with the illness and over 800 patients died since the start of January.
In Israel, there are over 82,401 active patients currently ill with the disease. At least 16,262 of them live in Jerusalem, which means one in every five active patients is a resident of the capital.
In Bnei Brak live 5,556 active patients, in Modi'in Illit 3,348, in Beit Shemesh 2,610, in Petah Tikva 2,413, in Tel Aviv-Yafo 2,200, in Ashdod 2,008, in Haifa 1,782, in Beitar Illit 1,694, in Elad 1,531, in Netanya 1,370, in Rishon Lezion 1,267, in Be'er Sheva 1,217, Holon 1,150, Nazareth 1,048 and Rehovot 1,000.
In the meantime, 2,364,828 (26.61%) people have so far been vaccinated against coronavirus with the first shot and 691,876 (7.79%) have received both doses.