Israel said Wednesday its tally of severe COVID-19 cases has dropped below 700 for the first time in weeks as the fifth infection wave continues to wane.
The Health Ministry said 693 patients are currently in serious condition, of whom 240 are ventilated, the lowest the figure has been since January 21.
The death toll since the start of the pandemic now stands at 10,040, of whom eight passed away on Tuesday alone. Since the beginning of the week, 60 coronavirus patients have died in Israel, but the actual number is believed to be much higher because the ministry reports deaths with considerable delay.
The ministry also said that 12,101 Israelis tested positive for COVID on Tuesday, and after 84,000 tests were conducted, the infection rate now stands at 14.37%. This is the 51st day in a row when more than 10,000 single-day cases were have been reported.
The virus' reproduction number, R, has increased slightly and now stands at 0.67, still indicating the pandemic is on the decline.
The number of patients currently ill with the disease across Israel stands at 110,205. The majority of the patients live in Tel Aviv with 6,466 active cases, followed by Jerusalem with 5,865, Haifa with 3,799, Petah Tikva with 3,798, Be'er Sheva with 3,724, Rishon LeZion with 2,836, Netanya with 2,660, Ashkelon with 2,643, Ashdod with 2,275, and Ramat Gan with 2,186.
As a result of the decline in morbidity, the tally of "red" local authorities with high infection rates is declining.
On Wednesday, the predominantly ultra-Orthodox Bnei Brak also turned "green." Jerusalem turned "orange" earlier this week and is on its way to becoming yellow soon. In addition, Taibeh, Shefar'am, Araba, Qalansawa, Ofra, Abu Sanan, Umm al-Fahm, Yarka, Sakhnin, Rahat, Savyon, Lod, Yafia, Kfar Qassem, Tira and Julis have also turned orange along with some other communities throughout the country.