671 Israelis have been diagnosed as positive for coronavirus since midnight, according to data published by the Ministry of Health on Friday evening.
By Friday evening, about 50,000 tests had been deciphered and the positive rate was about 1.4%. Since the beginning of the week, 4,258 cases of COVID-19 have been diagnosed in Israel.
The update from the Ministry of Health noted that 104 COVID-19 carriers are hospitalized in hospitals around the country - a slight increase compared to Thursday. On the other hand, there was a decrease in the number of patients in serious condition, which stood at 54 on Friday morning. The Ministry of Health updated that 49 patients are now hospitalized in serious condition, 16 of them connected to respirators.
Since the start of the pandemic, 6,444 people have died in Israel from the virus - the last of them on Thursday.
According to the Ministry of Health, seven people have died from the virus since the beginning of the week. At the same time, Israelis continue to be vaccinated. On Friday, 1,133 people received the first vaccine dose and 5,710 received the second.
Prof. Jonathan Halevy, president and former director-general of the Shaare Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem, on Friday expressed hope that the government will not impose a new lockdown, arguing that fears over the recent string of COVID outbreaks have been exaggerated.
“I really hope that we don’t get to another lockdown,” Halevy told Radio 103FM, noting that while there has been a significant spike in the number of new COVID cases, the number of seriously ill patients has remained low.
The Director General of the Ministry of Health, Prof. Nachman Ash, estimated in an interview with Channel 13 News on Thursday evening that a lockdown may be imposed during the high holidays.
"I think we could get to a situation where we say we need a lockdown, that’s what I'm afraid of, that we'll get to a situation where we have to say that," Ash said. "Could it come soon? Look, soon is not tomorrow morning or next week, but that situation could come in a few weeks."
(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)