Israel saw 3,904 new coronavirus infections on Wednesday - a daily record high for the country. There were also been 405 new diagnoses between midnight and 7:30am Thursday.
In comparison, there were just 1,183 new infections for the entire month of May, when Israel reopened its economy after several weeks of lockdown.
The national death toll for COVID-19 has also reached 1,054.
Some 43,500 coronavirus tests were processed Wednesday, showing an infection rate of 9% or 1 in 11 tests coming back positive.
There are currently 31,769 people battling the disease in Israel. Of that total, 4,086 are Jerusalem residents; 1,816 live in Bnei Brak; 1,306 are in Ashdod; 928 are in Modi'in Illit; 890 are from Beit Shemesh and 844 are in Tel Aviv.
According to the Health Ministry, 474 people are in serious condition, while the number of patients on a ventilator has fallen to 133.
In light of the soaring infection rate, coronavirus czar Prof. Ronni Gamzu and Health Minister Yuli Edelstein, along with defense officials, on Wednesday night presented Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with the steps Israel can take in the run-up to the Jewish High Holidays that begin next week.
Four possible scenarios were presented: round-the-clock curfew for the entire holiday period; a curfew on the holy days only; a partial curfew; and the limited implementation of Gamzu's "traffic light" plan.
The so-called coronavirus cabinet was to convene at 2pm Thursday to discuss which restrictions would be implemented.
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Bnei Brak Mayor Avraham Rubinstein, center, speaking to soldiers and police enforcing the city's night-time curfew
(Photo: Ynet)
Gamzu's plan for localized restrictions depending on the level of infection in a certain area using red, orange and green color coding was rejected earlier this week by Netanyahu following pressure from ultra-Orthodox leaders whose sector has high morbidity.
Instead, night-time curfews were introduced on Tuesday night, with some 40 areas showing high infection rates implementing lockdown between 7pm and 5am for a period of one week.
Health Ministry Director-General Prof. Hezi Levi warned Tuesday night that if Israel does go into another widespread general closure, it could last a month.
Levi's warning regarding an extended closure came made during a late night Zoom meeting attended by senior Health Ministry officials, including Edelstein and the heads of a number of hospitals.