Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Saturday, March 19, 2022
From the Liveblog of
Saturday, March 19, 2022
COVID reproduction figure in Israel rises above 1 for first time since January
Technicians carry out a diagnostic test for COVID-19 in a lab at Leumit Health Care Services branch in Or Yehuda, on January 21, 2022. (Yossi Zeliger/Flash90)
The R number — the reproduction rate of the COVID virus — passed 1 in Israel for the first time since January, according to figures from the Health Ministry.
The R number currently stands at 1.02, and more than 7,000 new COVID cases were confirmed on Friday — the highest one-day figure in more than 10 days.
There are currently 43,454 active COVID cases in Israel, with 326 serious cases, and 133 of them on ventilators.
