BySARAH BEN-NUN

A 16-year-old teenager has been in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Kaplan Medical Center in Rehovot for a few days.

Dr. Eli Shapiro, director of pediatric intensive care at Kaplan, said on Sunday that the boy's breathing has slightly improved.

"That said," he added, "he is still receiving breathing assistance in a non-invasive way."

In addition to the breathing aid, the boy is being medically treated for COVID-19 intravenously.

"It is important to understand that the pandemic is not over, and it might even be harsher among young adults," warned Shapiro.

This isn't the first time a teenager has suffered severe complications from COVID-19. Back in November, a 17-year-old boy was hooked up to an ECMO machine after his condition worsened. He had recovered from the coronavirus weeks prior, but still suffered the effects. 
A study published in June showed that more young people were getting infected with the virus, for two reasons: they are less likely to be careful and adhere to restrictions, and (at least in Israel) because of ramped-up testing.

On Monday, the Health Ministry reported a lower-than-average 5,616 new cases of the novel coronavirus, but with a record 9.1% of tests returning positive.

273 of those infected were intubated. The death toll stood at 4,005.

As of Sunday night, over two million Israelis have received their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine.