Israel registers fewest new coronavirus cases in a year
Only 102 patients were in serious condition as of Sunday morning, less than a tenth of the number at the peak of the pandemic.
By ROSSELLA TERCATINUpdated: MAY 2, 2021 19:49Israelis walk on the streets of Tel Aviv without wearing protective face masks, as Israel lifts the restrictions on wearing a mask outdoors. (photo credit: MIRIAM ALSTER/FLASH90)
Israel registered 13 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, the Health Ministry reported Sunday.Some 10,000 tests are performed over weekends, compared with 30,000 to 35,000 on weekdays. Nevertheless, Israel had not registered such a low number of new virus carriers since last May. Last week, some 75 to 100 people tested positive to the virus during the weekdays.On Saturday, April 3, some 124 cases were identified, and a month before that there were 1,878. At the peak of the pandemic in January and February, even on Saturdays, the number of daily cases exceeded 2,500.Only 0.1% of the tests performed on Saturday returned a positive result, the lowest since the beginning of the pandemic.In addition to the minimal number of new cases, all other indicators were encouraging.There are currently fewer than 1,500 active COVID-19 cases, compared with tens of thousands in January.As of Sunday morning, 102 patients were in serious condition, less than a tenth of the number at the peak of the pandemic, the Health Ministry reported.Fewer than 10 people succumbed to the virus over the past week. Over a month ago, about the same number of deaths were registered every day. Dozens of daily victims were reported at the beginning of the year.The virus reproduction rate, or “R,” which measures how many people each virus carrier infects on average, has remained stable at around 0.8 for several weeks, showing that in spite of the extensive openings, the disease is receding.Meanwhile, the vaccination campaign, which all experts credit with the positive situation in the country, is continuing, albeit slowly. Last week, 10,000 to 12,000 people were vaccinated every day, compared with more than 200,000 every day at its peak. Some 900,000 eligible adults have so far chosen not to get vaccinated.Some 5.4 million Israelis have received at least one dose of the coronavirus shot, with 5.1 million of them receiving both doses.The Health Ministry is deliberating how long the vaccination certificates and Green Passes can be extended and when people are going to need a booster shot. The vaccination certificates and Green Passes of the first people who were inoculated are due to expire at the beginning of June.The ministry is in contact with vaccine makers about the issue, and it has also been monitoring the first two million people who were vaccinated and tracking their infection rate, Public Health Services head Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis told The Jerusalem Post last week.“We don’t see the infection rate going up in that population, but once we do start to see that, then we will know a booster shot is needed,” she said.Maayan Hoffman contributed to this report.
