Israel Reaches Record-High COVID Test Positivity Rate
Israel’s seven-day rolling average positivity rate – the number of confirmed cases divided by the number of tests, expressed as a percentage – currently stands at 27.9%, the highest rate recorded over the entire pandemic. This is also currently the highest rate in the Middle East and North Africa. The second-highest positivity rate is in Bahrain, where 22.3% of tests are showing positive results.
Israel reported 10,960 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, the highest number of new daily cases since April 4.
The Jewish state’s estimated effective reproduction rate (R), the average number of new infections caused by a single infected individual, is 1.39 as of Thursday. The number of people in Israel hospitalized for COVID-19 as of Friday was 642, which is higher than it has been since April 28. On Sunday, 43 hospitalized COVID-19 patients were in intensive care units. Daily ICU admissions (24 on Sunday) are higher than they’ve been since April 13.
The Jerusalem Post reports that the number of serious cases in Israel is on the rise, with 168 people currently considered to be in serious condition, 32 people intubated and two people connected to ECMO machines. The number of serious cases in Israel has increased by 95% in the last week alone, according to Health Ministry data.
The Health Ministry has reportedly advised hospitals to reopen their dedicated COVID-19 wards for the first time in several months.
About 66.12% of Israelis are considered to be fully vaccinated. Since the start of the pandemic, Israel has recorded 10,908 COVID-19-related deaths.
