Israel has lost 105 COVID-19 patients in the past three days with 19 people succumbing to the disease on Saturday alone, according to new data released by the Health Ministry on Saturday evening, The national death toll in the coronavirus pandemic now stands at 1,679.
The ministry also said that of the 62,062 coronavirus test results received on Friday, 7,024 were found to be positive - indicating an 11.8% infection rate that is slightly lower than the 15% of recent days.
According to the Health Ministry, there are currently 71,908 active cases of COVID-19 in Israel, including 839 patients in serious condition, of whom a record-high 224 are on ventilators.
On Saturday, the infection rate stood at 9.3% after 20,202 tests were conducted. If this figure is maintained, it will be the lowest infection rate in Israel in the two weeks.
Ultra-Orthodox localities have seen a moderate decrease in the last seven days in the rate of positive coronavirus tests. In several cities around the country, however, an increase was noted.
A comparison of the data between September 22-28 and September 26-October 2 shows that in Jerusalem there was a slight increase in the number of positive tests, while in Ashdod - the third city in Israel where more than 10,000 people have tested positive - a decrease was noted.
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A parking lot converted into a coronavirus ward at Rambam Healthcare Campus in Haifa
(Photo: Reuters)
In Haifa, there was an increase in the rate of infection to 9.51%, while in Tel Aviv, 8.7% of the tests conducted over the last seven days were found to be positive.
The predominantly ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak recorded a moderate decline in the infection rate, though one in four tests conducted is still showing positive.