The Health Ministry reported Thursday morning that 6,826 new cases of coronavirus have been detected in the previous 24 hours, 3,136 of them since midnight.
According to ministry data, there are currently 667 Israeli COVID-19 patients in serious condition receiving treatment across the country's hospitals, among them 164 patients on ventilators.
Health authorities reported that 12.4% of all coronavirus tests conducted on Wednesday returned positive, meaning 1 of every 8 tests yielded a positive result.
Since the onset of the pandemic in Israel, 206,332 Israelis have contracted the virus and 1,335 have passed away due to its complications, 9 of them since midnight.
The government approved Thursday morning a full coronavirus lockdown which is set to take effect from this coming Friday until after the Jewish holiday season in mid-October.
Despite opposition from coronavirus czar Prof. Ronni Gamzu, Finance Minister Israel Katz and Bank of Israel Governor Amir Yaron, all "non-essential" factories and services will be shut down during the closure.
Ministers also decided to set up an inter-ministerial committee led by Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi and Transportation Minister Miri Regev that will rule on operations at Ben Gurion Airport, mainly canceling all departures besides cases of emergency.