The number of seriously ill COVID patients in Israel is nearing 500 on Saturday, Health Ministry figures show, as the delta variant continues to spread through the country.
Out of those 492 patients, 113 are in critical condition and 83 are on ventilators.
There are currently 827 people hospitalized with the coronavirus and patients from central Israel are being taken from crowded local hospitals to medical centers in Jerusalem. There are about 1,000 beds set aside for coronavirus patients throughout Israel.
On Friday, 5,867 Israelis were diagnosed with COVID – 4.93 percent of all tests that day came back positive. During the third wave of the coronavirus in Israel, in contrast, an average of nine percent of tests came back positive. There are currently 47,963 active cases in the country.
In an attempt to cope with the rising infection rate, the Health Ministry approved on Friday giving a third dose of the COVID vaccine to people aged 50 and up, as well as to medical staff aged 30 and up who work with coronavirus patients. It also approved giving the booster shot to prisoners aged 40 and up, if at least five months have passed since their second dose.
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More than 70,000 Israel have received the booster shot, and 846,000 people in Israel have been vaccinated with the third shot overall.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced on Friday that he instructed the directors of Israel’s four health maintenance organizations to double its vaccination rate in the coming week, and to offer inoculations around the clock, seven days a week. The vaccination campaign will be aided by military medics, as per an agreement with Defense Minister Benny Gantz.
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