This year's Purim holiday will not be as case-heavy and stressful as it was over the last two years, said Weizmann Institute scientist Prof. Eran Segal.
"It's not that there won't be any cases, but it won't be like it's been," Segal told Ynet.
Since 2020, the Purim festivities throughout Israel occurred in a limited capacity as the coronavirus started and spread.
"We are in a three-week-long stretch of a decline in cases," he said, "it stands at a 20% decrease. I don't think we'll be seeing a rise of this wave again."
23,555 new coronavirus cases in Israel were diagnosed in Israel on Monday, continuing the recent decline in numbers, the Health Ministry announced, bringing the number of active cases up to 178,118.
The number of Israelis who received their fourth vaccine jab neared 700,000, standing at 699,505. The positivity rate is currently 19.15% and 35,854 Israelis are in quarantine.
974 people are currently in serious condition, with 338 in critical condition and 279 intubated. 27 are connected to ECMO machines. 235 are in moderate condition and 931 are in light condition.
The death toll stands at 9,624.
Four of Israel's major hospitals are over their service capacity, according to the new data. Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv is at 109%, Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer is at 107%, Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem and the Samson Assuta Ashdod Hospital are at 104%.
Additionally, the government announced on Tuesday that passengers flying in from Ukraine will be exempt from providing a COVID-19 test before the flight, as the foreign ministry rushed flights out of the tense conflict zone. Upon landing in Israel, the passengers will perform a PCR test at Ben Gurion Airport. The exemption is valid until February 21.