TEL AVIV – For the first time, the number of Israelis who have recovered from COVID-19 has exceeded the number of new confirmed cases for three consecutive days, the Health Ministry reported.
On Sunday, there were 226 new coronavirus cases diagnosed while 298 Israelis were said to have recovered from the disease. A day before saw 283 new cases and 330 people recovered; and on Friday 224 new cases were confirmed while 308 people recovered.
The number of COVID-19 patients requiring ventilators is also on the decline, falling from 137 to 109 over the past four days – although some of that drop is due to deaths of critical patients.
The good news is strengthened by the fact that the recovery period is much longer – between four to six weeks – than the infection period, in which symptoms emerge over an average of 11 days.
Ultra-Orthodox communities, which have been the epicenter of the outbreak, have seen a curb in new cases. According to unnamed experts cited by the Haaretz newspaper, the peak of the outbreak is behind us.
Israel has seen a dramatic increase in testing, carrying out more than 11,000 tests on one day last week. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country aims to arrive at 30,000 tests a day.
However, senior Health Ministry officials were said to have warned that Israel is not prepared for a second wave of the virus.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.