The Coronavirus Information and Knowledge Center reported Friday morning that the number of serious coronavirus patients in Israel climbed to 304 and that 1,892 new cases were detected in the previous 24 hours.
There are currently 32,094 patients battling the virus and 25,792 Israelis have recovered.
The number of active patients stood at 33,496 Thursday evening. The reason for the sharp decline was a Health Ministry decision to shorten the recovery period.
Three Israelis have succumbed to complications of COVID-19 overnight, bringing the country's virus-related fatalities to 443.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that Prof. Ronni Gamzu, who was appointed chief of the national coronavirus task force, will be given full authority to tackle the COVID-19 epidemic.
"Prof. Gamzu has one major mission – to break the chain of contagion," said Netanyahu. "For this purpose, he will be given full authority in three areas – testing, [epidemiological] investigations, and quarantine."
Incoming coronavirus czar Gamzu said that the government is trying its best to fight off the pathogen while avoiding another general lockdown on the economy.
"The mission is to get through this with minimal harm to society and the economy. Lockdown may be an easy fix and is being done in some countries today," said Gamzu. "The Israeli government, and I say this with a lot of respect, tries everything it can without lockdown."