Israel logs 1,023 new COVID cases, contagion rate drops below 2%

Health Ministry says nation's average contagion rate drops below 2% for first time since end of July; adds that 44% of all COVID cases diagnosed Sunday aged 11 and lower, majority of seriously ill patients unvaccinated

Yaron Druckman, Adir Yanko|
The Health Ministry reported Sunday that 1,023 new coronavirus cases have been diagnosed since midnight after 52,000 tests indicating a 1.99% positivity rate - a record low since July 24.
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  • Out of 674 COVID patients hospitalized throughout the country, 463 are in serious condition, of which 186 are connected to ventilators.
    3 View gallery
    Barzilai Medical Center's dedicated COVID ward
    Barzilai Medical Center's dedicated COVID ward
    Barzilai Medical Center's dedicated COVID ward
    (Photo: AP)
    The death toll since the start of the pandemic rose to 7,904 after 7 patients died over the weekend.
    The Health Ministry added that out of all seriously ill patients, 345 have not been vaccinated at all, 70 received only the two doses of the vaccine, and 31 received both doses as well as the booster.
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    בדיקות קורונה לילדים
    בדיקות קורונה לילדים
    A child is tested for COVID-19 last month
    (Photo: Ryan Preuss)
    Information regarding the immunization status of the remaining 17 seriously ill patients was not disclosed.
    Among seriously ill patients who are less than 60 years old, 176 were not vaccinated, 21 received both doses and 7 received both doses as well as the booster.
    Those figures show that 86% of all seriously ill patients under 60 were those who did not receive the vaccine - compared to 3.5% among those who received the booster.
    3 View gallery
    חיסון קורונה בישראל
    חיסון קורונה בישראל
    An elderly woman receiving the COVID booster
    (Photo: Tal Shahar)
    Out of all COVID patients diagnosed Sunday, 44% were kids under the age of 11 - too young to have received the COVID vaccine - 12% were aged 12 to 18, and 6% were aged 60 and over.
    Since the start of Israel's vaccination drive, over 6 million Israelis received the first dose of the COVID vaccine, over 5.6 million received both doses, and over 3.7 received both doses as well as the booster shot.
    The drop in the country's average contagion rate coincides with the launch of the government's "Green Class" initiative in areas with low morbidity, which exempts students from automatic quarantine if a student in their class tests positive for coronavirus, and obliges them instead to have daily COVID tests - including two PCR tests - for a week.
    Prime Minister Naftali Bennett who instructed health officials to implement the initiative said "This program is possible now that we have managed to reduce morbidity caused by the Delta variant of COVID-19. We can now make thing a bit easier for both the kids and their parents."
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