The coronavirus infection rate in Israel remained exceptionally high on Sunday morning even as testing dropped sharply over the weekend.
The Health Ministry reported that on Saturday medical officials conducted only 46,390 tests, with 5,855 - one out of every seven - returning positive. The figures put the infection rate at an alarming 14%.
The number of COVID-19 patients in serious condition has increased to 749, of whom 196 are ventilated. The official death toll has gone up to 1,450.
The number of active patients currently ill with the disease stands at 68,788, bringing the tally of confirmed cases since the start of the epidemic in Israel to 229,374.
The Coronavirus National Knowledge and Information Center also said that 33.6% of the newly-diagnosed are between the ages of 0-19; 31.4% are aged 39-20; 23.5% are aged 59-40; 9.1% are aged 79-70 and 1.7% are aged 80 and over.
The data shows the average rate of infection throughout the country is approaching 2.5%. Israel currently has 9,246,000 residents, of whom 229,148 have been diagnosed with COVID-19, meaning one out of every 40 people were at some point infected with the virus.
On Saturday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the public not to attend synagogues on Yom Kippur and pray in small groups in open spaces.