Israel’s Health Ministry recorded a two-month-high of 205 seriously ill coronavirus patients on Sunday, as the omicron variant continues its rapid spread throughout the country.
The figure represents a 22 percent increase in serious coronavirus cases in a single day, with 48 of the current patients on ventilators.
Israel sees spike in serious COVID cases as omicron surgesIsraeli Health Ministry dashboard
The number of serious COVID cases in Israel has tripled in the last 18 days, rising from 76 on 22 December.
As serious cases begin to rise the discrepancy between vaccinated and unvaccinated patients becomes more evident. According to Health Ministry data, 14 percent of Israelis over 20 are unvaccinated, and they account for 50 percent of serious cases.
On Saturday, the Health Ministry reported 17,521 new confirmed cases, a fall from the previous day’s peak. However, due to the recent change in testing policy this number may not represent the true number of newly infected individuals.
The change in the testing policy to limit PCR testing to only part of the population and to put the burden of rapid testing and reporting on individuals will widen the gap between the information decision makers have in hand and a true picture of the growing omicron pandemic. The data they will have to work with will be less precise than before, restricted to figures on symptomatic and hospitalized patients, which provide only a lagging indicator for the spread of the virus.
In light of concerns about the inaccuracy of the antigen tests, the Health Ministry is weighing up recommending an alternative method of carrying out coronavirus tests, the director general of the ministry Professor Nachman Ash said on Sunday. This will involve also placing the swab in the mouth before taking a sample from the nose, Ash explained, and said that he expects the ministry to make the recommendation.
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Meanwhile, the R number – the average number of people each coronavirus carrier infects – continues being at a six-month peak and stood at 1.97 last Tuesday (data on the R number represents a weekly infection average recorded with one week delay). Director general Professor Nachman Ash, however, said that he does not expect new restrictions on gatherings, as they are unlikely to significantly reduce infections.
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