The number of coronavirus patients in serious condition has dropped to 193, the lowest figure since last July, the Health Ministry reported on Monday.
The number of new daily cases has been steadily declining, and at last count 2,270 people were infected with the virus. At the peak of the pandemic, in the second half of January, there were more than 70,000 active cases, 1,200 of whom were in serious condition.Of those currently in serious condition, 77.6% have not been vaccinated, three are children.Some 141 new cases were identified on Monday, with 0.4% of about 37,000 tests returning a positive result, the Health Ministry reported. The numbers are in line with those from previous days.The reproduction rate, or “R,” which indicates the number of people that each virus carrier can infect on average, has also remained stable under 0.8 for several weeks, meaning the disease is steadily in decline.The number of daily deaths is also dropping. Three people succumbed to the virus on Monday. In January, some 77 people died of COVID-19 within 24 hours and since the beginning of the pandemic, some 6,338 people in Israel have lost their lives to the disease.Only 323 people are hospitalized with COVID-19 country-wide, compared to some 1,800 in the worst periods and most hospitals have shut down their coronavirus units. On Monday, Hadassah-University Medical Center announced it had closed its last COVID-19 internal medicine ward and only six COVID patients remain in the hospital in a COVID-19 intensive care unit.Hadassah saw more coronavirus patients throughout the pandemic than any other Israeli hospital. Jerusalem has large haredi (ultra-Orthodox) and Arab communities who suffered severely from the virus.The hospital admitted 4,500 patients last year, 10% of whom were admitted to intensive care and on some days the hospital cared for 150 COVID-19 patients.Furthermore, Sheba Medical Center announced that its underground parking lot, which served as the hospital's critical care coronavirus unit, had returned to its original purpose. At the height of the third wave, there were nearly 40 critical care patients treated in the unit.Thanks to the current low number of cases, since Sunday, Israelis are no longer required to wear masks outdoors, while children in all grades have been allowed to return to classrooms full-time without capsules.