Serious cases of coronavirus have reached the highest number since February 2021, surpassing 1,000 cases on Saturday, though the omicron wave continues to show signs of subsiding.
The number of seriously ill coronavirus patients has been creeping up since the start of the month, with the figure jumping from 715 to 1,010 in the last week. According to the Health Ministry data, 301 of the seriously ill are in a critical condition, 231 are on ventilators and 19 are hooked up to ECMO machines.
Over the past week, there has also been an 80.7 percent rise in mortality rates, with 24 people dying of COVID on Friday. Since the pandemic broke out nearly two years ago, 8,657 people have succumbed to the virus in Israel.
Despite the rise in serious cases, the fifth wave seems to be waning.
On Friday, 53,020 people tested positive for the virus in Israel, the fifth consecutive day of decline.
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The R number – the average number of people each coronavirus carrier infects – also fell to 1.01. The R number is calculated from data from the previous 10 days, and any number above 1 indicates that the virus is actively spreading.
On Saturday, the Home Front Command announced it will be distributing antigen tests to all children up to the age of 3, following the government’s decision to exempt schoolchildren and kindergartners from quarantine.
The new plan, which went into effect on Thursday, will require all students – vaccinated or not – to undergo two home antigen tests per week before going to school, in lieu of isolating upon exposure to a COVID carrier.
Students testing negative would be free to attend school. Students testing positive would be required to do another antigen test through an established medical care provider. If that test were negative, they would be free to go to school. If positive, they would go into quarantine for five days.
The new rules apply to all students, from preschool through high school. The Education Ministry said it will distribute 35 million home testing kits to schools and preschools for students to use in the coming weeks.
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