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Israel on Monday reported over 10,000 single-day COVID-19 cases for the first time in months.
The Health Ministry said 10,202 tested positive for coronavirus on Sunday, the highest single-day increase since April.
The R factor, indicating the spread of the virus in the community, now stands at 1.32, representing a slight drop from 1.52 reported a week earlier.
The ministry said the number of seriously ill patients has also increased and now stands at 168, double the number reported in the previous week. The number of hospitalized patients stood at 600 on Sunday, the highest in months.
Since the start of the pandemic, 10,908 Israelis have succumbed to coronavirus-related complications.
In the meantime, Tel Aviv has the highest tally of active patients at 3,661, followed by Jerusalem with 2,697 active cases, and Haifa with 2,234.
In light of the steadfast rise in cases, the ministry called on hospitals to prepare to reopen the dedicated COVID wards. Additionally, the ministry instructed medical staff to test patients for the virus prior to admittance.
"As we know, we've been experiencing an increase in the last few days in the number of patients diagnosed with COVID," the Health Ministry wrote in a letter addressed to the hospital managers.
"The increase rate of the virus in the past two weeks is reflected in the hospitalization numbers, the number of seriously ill patients and an increase in the number of referrals to the urgent care departments."
The Health Ministry also instructed hospitals to continue training teams designated to treat COVID patients.