New fatality takes Israel’s COVID-19 death toll to 277

The Health Ministry on Tuesday morning updated Israel’s coronavirus death toll to 277, with one fatality recorded overnight.

The number of COVID-19 cases was 16,650, an increase of 29 in the previous 24 hours. The number of active cases was 3,074, with 13,299 people having recovered from the disease.

Of the patients, 51 were in serious condition, including 39 on ventilators, while 38 were in moderate condition.

The update said 6,733 virus tests were conducted on Monday.

Israel has the lab capacity to test up to 15,000 people for coronavirus daily, but demand has gone down as fewer suspected cases show up to have swabs taken, the Health Ministry has said.

The rate of new infections has slowed dramatically in recent weeks and the government has increasingly rolled back restrictions meant to curb the outbreak, aiming to fully reopen schools this week, after two months of closure.

Meanwhile, many businesses have been permitted to reopen and restrictions on public areas have been eased, though social distancing and face masks are still compulsory. More moves to remove restrictions are reportedly in the works.

However, violations have been reported across the country, including thousands of beach-goers who ignored the closure of the shores during unseasonably sweltering weather.