Health Ministry Director-General Moshe Bar Siman Tov on Monday morning said he expects the number of coronavirus patients who are on ventilators will continue to rise in the coming days.

"I believe that by the weekend, we will have more than 150 patients in serious condition," he told Reshet Bet in an interview.

He also reiterated that he believes thousands of Israelis will die before the coronavirus pandemic ends.

"I don't see a model where we finish this event with a small number of fatalities or patients on ventilators," he said.

The talk about gradual return to routine after the Pesach (Passover) holiday ends does not mean a quick return to normalcy, he emphasized.

"In my estimation, the school year will not resume after the Pesach holiday," he said. "Most things will not reopen, but we'll be able to go back to certain activities in a supervised and regulated fashion."

"At the end of the day, the key is an integral change in people's behavior."