A total of 1,609 new cases of the coronavirus were reported across Israel Sunday, according to data released by the Health Ministry Monday morning.

The decline in the number of newly diagnosed cases is the result, in part, of the small number of tests conducted Sunday, with just 22,777 people tested.

However, the percentage of tests returning positive also remains significantly lower than it was for much of the last two weeks, with 7.7% of rests coming back positive, down from a peak of 15.1%.

For the ninth day in a row, new recoveries outpaced newly diagnosed infections, with 3,687 patients recovering from the coronavirus on Sunday.

Since the pandemic began 291,828 cases of the coronavirus have been diagnosed in Israel, with 238,145 ending in recovery.

On Sunday, 21 coronavirus-related fatalities were recorded, raising the death toll to 1,983.

There are currently 51,698 active cases of the virus in Israel, including 1,553 patients being treated in hospitals. Of those, 823 are in serious condition, with a further 299 in moderate condition. Two-hundred-and-twenty-four patients are on respirators.