Virus death toll climbs to 215, but new infections continue to slide

Health Ministry data shows just 106 confirmed cases in last 24 hours; over half of the 15,834 people diagnosed with COVID-19 have regained their health

The Health Ministry on Wednesday night raised the national death toll from the coronavirus to 215, with two more fatalities since the morning, as data showed a sustained slowdown of daily infection rates.

Israel on Wednesday saw its number of recovered patients pass the number of active cases for the first time, and that trend continued Wednesday night, with the number of recovered rising to 8,233, more than half the 15,834 cases confirmed thus far,

In total, 106 new infections were recorded in the past 24 hours, the third consecutive day with fewer than 200 new cases. There were 115 patients in serious condition, 90 of them on ventilators and another 83 were in moderate condition while the vast majority were displaying mild symptoms or none at all.

There was no information immediately available on the latest deaths.

In recent days, Israel’s infection rate has appeared to fall off significantly, with only dozens of new cases being reported every 12 hours, and the government has announced steps to ease restrictions on businesses and travel.

The lower number of cases has coincided with a drop off in testing, though the ministry says it has the capacity to run 15,000 samples a day, but not enough suspected cases to test.

Israeli medical team of Sheba Medical Center at Tel HaShomer wave national flags as Israeli Air Force (IAF) planes fly over the hospital during Israel’s Independence day (Yom Ha’atzmaut) celebrations amid the COVID-19 pandemic, in Ramat Gan on April 29, 2020. (JACK GUEZ / AFP)

Israel was set Thursday to return to some semblance of normal, with much of the country opening up following two days of ramped up restrictions in place for the Memorial Day and Independence Day holidays.

Starting Thursday at 8 a.m., the 500-meter limitation on the distance from home that Israelis can exercise will be lifted, with no further restrictions on physical activity in place. However, group exercise is still banned.

Most stores will also be allowed to reopen, though leisure venues and eateries will continue to remain as closed, as will all shops in malls except for supermarkets and pharmacies.

Beginning Sunday, some students are set to return to school, though final approval depends on the findings of research on infection rates among children that will be presented to government ministers later this week.

Social distancing regulations and a requirement to cover one’s mouth and nose remain in place.