Israel smashes daily Covid record set previous day with 16,115 new cases
The peak of the fifth wave of the pandemic should be reached within three weeks, experts say
Israel on Thursday broke the previous day's record for new coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic with 16,115 registered infections amid the omicron-fueled fifth wave.
According to figures updated by the Health Ministry, the positivity rate of the 330,000 tests carried out on Wednesday was 4.9 percent.
In addition, 134 people are currently in serious condition, including 51 critical and 41 on ventilators.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett warned on Sunday that Israel would likely see 20,000 new daily cases by the end of the week, and could reach 50,000 daily cases at the height of the wave.
Health officials expect the peak of the fifth wave of the pandemic to be reached within three weeks, as Israelis have flocked to testing centers since Wednesday, and the omicron variant spreads widely in the country.
The Health Ministry said the virus transmission rate, R, indicating the number of people to whom each infected person transmits the virus, has increased to 1.99.
The transmission rate is based on data collected 10 days previously and values greater than 1 indicate that infections are spreading. The higher the number, the faster the contamination rate.
According to Channel 12, authorities expect 1,200 Covid patients to be in serious condition by this time, as hospitals across the country mobilize to welcome a massive influx of new patients.