Israel's coronavirus infection rate is rising once again at an alarming rate after a temporary reduction over the weekend, with the Health Ministry saying Monday that 1,844 people tested positive for the pathogen the day before.
According to the Center for Kowledge and Information, 8.1% of the 26,132 tests conducted Sunday showed a positive diagnosis for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.
There are currently 19, 883 people battling the disease in Israel, while 22,382 people have recovered. Of those currently ill, 260 people are in serious condition, including 78 patients on ventilators.
Five more people have succumbed to the disease , bringing the national death toll since the start of the pandemic to 422.
The number of new cases appears to be spiking in certain areas.
Jerusalem currently has 4,370 active patients, while the Haredi city of Bnei Brak has 2,230. In Tel Aviv, there are 1,993 people sick with COVID-19 and 1,091 patients in the southern city of Ashdod.
In the ultra-Orthodox West Bank settlement of Beitar Ilit, which emerged from a week-long lockdown on Sunday, 1 in of every 61 residents is now confirmed to have the virus. In Bnei Brak, the rate is 1 in every 95 people, in Jerusalem 1 in 232 and in Tel Aviv 1 in 277 residents.
2 View gallery
Police enforce lockdown in an ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Jerusalem following rising coronavirus cases
(Photo: AFP)
The Knesset's coronavirus committee was due to meet Tuesday morning to decide on whether to keep restaurants open as the country battles a second wave of the virus, and under what restrictions they will be allowed to operate.
First published: 10:25, 07.21.20