Israel once again saw nearly 2,000 new daily coronavirus cases as well as a sharp rise in the number of ventilated patients, health officials said Saturday.
The Health Ministry reported that 1,770 people tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday, bringing the number of active patients currently ill with the disease to 33,160.
With 23,153 tests conducted on Friday, the contagion rate remains alarmingly high at 8.2%.
The ministry said the number of patients in a serious condition has increased to 312, of which 94 are ventilated, a spike of ten new cases over the past 24 hours.
The death toll from coronavirus-related complications has increased to 455, an increase of seven fatalities over the past 24 hours.
The number of confirmed COVID-19 diagnoses since the start of the epidemic in Israel now stands at 60,496.
Over the past week, 10,967 people tested positive for COVID-19 in Israel, more than in the whole month of April, which saw 10,182 cases.
Jerusalem reported the highest number of new cases over the past week, with 1,791 diagnoses, followed by 1,020 cases in Bnei Brak, 440 in Tel Aviv and 419 in Beit Shemesh.