Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis
Dr. Sharon Alroy-PreisArutz Sheva

Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis, the head of the public health services division of Israel's Health Ministry, on Tuesday cynically criticized the flights from Israel to the United Arab Emirates, which have contributed to the rise in cases of COVID-19 in Israel.

"More people have died in two weeks of peace with Dubai than in 70 years of war with them," she was quoted by Channel 13 News as having said.

According to Home Front Command data obtained by Channel 13 News, from the beginning of December until today, 906 verified coronavirus carriers who have returned from the UAE have been diagnosed, forming a chain of infection of 4,050 people, with about 14,000 Israelis exposed to those infected.

On Tuesday morning, the Ministry of Health updated that Monday was the deadliest day since the pandemic began in Israel, with 74 deaths from the virus. The death toll from the virus so far stands at 4,493 people.

8,667 new cases were diagnosed in Israel on Monday after about 91,000 tests were performed, of which 9.8% were positive. 1,785 patients are currently hospitalized in hospitals across the country. 1,179 of them are in serious condition, and 305 of them are connected to respirators.