With 2 new deaths, Israel's virus toll rises to 260; daily cases remain low

Just 23 coronavirus infections diagnosed in last 24 hours, and over 12,000 have recovered, Health Ministry data shows

The Health Ministry on Tuesday evening announced 23 new coronavirus cases over the previous 24 hours, bringing the total number of cumulative infections in Israel to 16,529, as the number of Israelis who have recovered from the virus surpassed 12,000.

The ministry also announced two more fatalities from the virus, raising the death toll to 260.

There were no immediate details on the people who had died.

According to the ministry’s figures, there were 4,186 active COVID-19 cases in Israel. Sixty-six people are in serious condition, 55 of whom are on ventilators.

Another 53 people are in moderate condition and the rest have mild symptoms.

Afik Suissa, of Ashdod, who became seriously ill with COVID-19, April 2020. (Facebook)

So far, 12,083 Israelis have recovered from the disease. They include Ashdod resident Afik Suissa, 22, who spent over a month at Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Hospital in critical condition but recovered and was confirmed Tuesday to no longer have the virus.

The number of new infections has slowed dramatically in recent weeks. Israel has gone nine days since seeing over 100 new confirmed cases in a single day. On Sunday, the ministry said only 14 new cases had been confirmed in the previous day, the lowest tally since the start of the outbreak, but that same day saw fewer than 5,000 tests.

On Monday, the number of tests grew to 8,291.

People shop at the Malha Mall in Jerusalem after it reopened according to new government orders, May 7, 2020. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Israel has the lab capacity to test up to 15,000 people for COVID-19 daily but demand has gone down, as fewer suspected cases show up to have swabs taken, the Health Ministry said last month.

Amid the sustained drop in infections, the government has increasingly rolled back restrictions meant to curb the outbreak, opening some schools and allowing many businesses to reopen, and was reportedly planning more such measures.

However, authorities were bracing for a possible second wave of infections after thousands of ultra-Orthodox men gathered Monday night and Tuesday in Jerusalem, Beit Shemesh and Mount Meron to celebrate Lag B’Omer in violation of guidelines.