Professor Nachman Ash
Professor Nachman AshYonatan Sindel/Flash90

A total of 10,556 new coronavirus cases were diagnosed across Israel over the past 24 hours, and 690 coronavirus patients are seriously ill - a drop of 20 from Monday, an IDF Military Intelligence Directorate report said.

The report added that 5.9% of coronavirus tests were positive on Monday, and that the infection coefficient remained 1.01.

"While one week ago, we were clearly seeing a downward trend, in the past few days we've seen that stop," Prof. Ash said Tuesday at a Knesset committee meeting. "At the same time, we still do not see a drop in the number of severely ill patients."

"We have not seen such high rates of infection in any of the previous waves, not even during the high third wave," he emphasized.

Meanwhile, Prof. Ash announced that the Green Pass requirement would be canceled for outdoor swimming pools. "We understand the burden this caused," he said, adding, "I can't prove that the Green Pass has benefit, but I estimate that epidemiologically, the Green Pass has great importance in creating a protected environment allowing people to act freely without feeling that they are endangering themselves at events which require the pass. In order to see the benefit, we must be strict about enforcement."

The Military Intelligence Directorate report also responded to reports that parents prefer their children be infected with coronavirus instead of vaccinating them.

"In light of the not-insignificant danger of ongoing physical and cognitive damage in children who are infected with coronavirus, and especially in light of the upcoming approval to vaccinate children ages 5 and up, it is recommended to act as much as possible to prevent infections among children," the report said.