Coronavirus testing
Coronavirus testingYossi Aloni/Flash90

The number of newly diagnosed cases of the coronavirus in Israel continues to decline, along with the percentage of tests which are coming back positive, according to data released Friday morning by Israel’s Health Ministry.

A total of 1,608 new cases of the coronavirus were diagnosed across Israel on Thursday, the lowest number since Saturday.

While the decline can be explained in part by the decrease in the number of tests – which fell from 38,831 on Wednesday to 35,466 on Thursday – the percentage of tests which returned positive also fell Thursday to its lowest level in weeks, falling to less than a third of the peak rate.

Just 4.5% of tests returned Thursday came back positive, compared to a high of 15.1%. The rate has fallen throughout the week, declining from 7.7% Sunday to 7.1% Monday, 5.6% Tuesday, and 5.5% Wednesday.

New recoveries continued to outpace new diagnoses, with 5,453 patients recovering Thursday.

Since the pandemic began, 301,289 cases of the virus have been reported in Israel, including 260,803 which ended in recovery.

The death toll rose by 14 on Thursday, with an additional coronavirus-related fatality reported Friday morning, pushing the death toll to 2,128.

Of the 38,355 cases which are currently active, 1,259 are being treated in hospitals.

The number of patients in serious condition continues to fall, declining to 713 from 839 on Sunday.

A further 219 patients are in moderate condition, and 247 patients are on respirators.