Israel on Thursday reported less than 900 severe COVID-19 patients, the lowest the figure has been in some three weeks, as the country is preparing to suspend its Green Pass coronavirus passport system.
The Health Ministry said 886 patients are in serious condition, of whom 263 are ventilated. For comparison, on Sunday last week more than 1,250 patients were hospitalized in severe condition.
Since the start of the pandemic, 9,710 patients have succumbed to the disease, 11 of whom on Wednesday alone. Since the beginning of February, 744 patients have died in Israel, while the number of deaths since the beginning of the year stands at 1,453 - an average of 31 deaths per day.
The ministry added that on Wednesday 21,152 people tested positive for coronavirus, and after 111,273 tests had been performed, the positivity rate now stands at 19.01%. The virus' reproduction number, R, drops to 0.68, indicating a decline in the spread of the pathogen. The peak in single-day cases was reported on January 23, when over 85,000 people tested positive for the virus.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, meanwhile, said Thursday after meeting with health officials that Israel's Omicron wave "has been broken" and that additional reductions in coronavirus restrictions were forthcoming.
The Green Pass, a digital vaccination passport, limited entry to indoor venues and large gatherings to people who had recovered from coronavirus or received at least three doses of the vaccine.
Israel raced out of the gate last year to vaccinate most of its adult population after striking a deal with Pfizer to trade medical data in exchange for a steady supply of doses. Around 48% of Israel's 9.4 million people have received three doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine since the country began rolling out immunizations in late 2020. Over 72% of the country has received at least one dose.