Israel's omicron caseload doubles over weekend
The country is in the grip of the fifth wave of the coronavirus pandemic
Israel registered 1,175 new cases of the coronavirus on Friday out of 99,032 tests conducted, indicating a 1.82% positivity rate, a further rise in pandemic morbidity that comes a day after the government voted to impose restrictions on commercial centers.
The weekend tally, including the tests conducted on Saturday, was at 2,285.
A subsequent update to the Health Ministry's website specified that the number of omicron cases more than doubled over the weekend, rising to 1,118.
There are currently 90 people hospitalized in serious condition with virus complications, including 34 on artificial lung ventilation.
As of Saturday, the death toll was at 8,243.
Nearly 4.2 million Israelis received the booster dose of the vaccine, while over 6.5 Israelis received at least one dose.