Israel posts 577 new coronavirus cases, infection rate remains low

Out of the 17,869 patients currently battling the disease, 580 are hospitalized in serious condition, among them 227 patients on ventilators; seven more Israelis succumb to COVID-19
Yaron Druckman|
The Health Ministry reported on Thursday that 577 new coronavirus cases were diagnosed since midnight, raising Israel's total caseload to 308,166.
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  • With 22,133 tests conducted by Thursday evening, the national infection rate stands at 2.6%.
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    מחלקת טיפול נמרץ קורונה בבית החולים איכילוב
    מחלקת טיפול נמרץ קורונה בבית החולים איכילוב
    Coronavirus emergency room at Tel Aviv's Ichilov Hospital
    (Photo: TPS)
    Seven Israelis have passed away since midnight due to complications of COVID-19, raising the country's total coronavirus-related death toll since the beginning of the pandemic to 2,319.
    Out of the 17,869 patients currently battling the disease, 580 are hospitalized in serious condition, among them 227 patients on ventilators.
    Meanwhile, U.S. pharmaceutical company Moderna announced on Thursday that its coronavirus vaccine will become available in Israel by mid-2021.
    “We do not have a precise timetable yet. It will certainly be available in the first half of 2021. But anything more precise than that, we can’t say yet," said Moderna's chief medical officer, Dr. Tal Zacks, who is an Israeli.
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    אסף הרופא
    אסף הרופא
    Coronavirus ward at Shamir Medical Center
    (Photo: Ifat Haddad)
    "I am very optimistic about our test results, we could be vaccinating people against coronavirus as early as January," he added.
    Last month, Moderna became the first medical company to publish blueprints of their coronavirus vaccine studies, helped by a U.S. federal grant to the tune of $2.5 billion.
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