Israel is leading the world in coronavirus cases per capita over the past seven days, a study published on Tuesday by Oxford University shows.
The study also saw Israel coming in the fourth percentile in coronavirus fatalities per capita. The likely cause that Israel ranks lower for COVID-related deaths is that most Israelis over the age of 60 have received at least two shots of the Pfizer vaccine, and many have already received a third booster.
Around 2.35 million Israelis in the general population, out of a total population of 9.3 million, have received the third booster. Six million Israelis have received at least one dose.
A teenager receives a dose of the Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine at Clalit Health Services, in Israel’s Mediterranean coastal city of Tel Aviv on January 23, 2021. Israel began administering novel coronavirus vaccines to teenagers as it pushed ahead with its inoculation drive. (JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)
On Wednesday, the country recorded its highest caseload in a single day, with more than 11,000 people infected with the virus.
The rate of positive tests was 7.92 percent, still far below September 2020’s record of 15% – but far more tests are being conducted in the current wave.
Since the start of August, nearly 200,000 Israelis have tested positive for the pathogen.
August has also seen 564 COVID-19-related deaths, whereas in June there were just 8.