Coronavirus ward (illustrative)
Coronavirus ward (illustrative)Yossi Aloni/Flash90

Sunday saw the diagnosis of 6,562 new coronavirus cases, for a total of 37,675 active cases nationwide, Israel's Health Ministry said Monday morning.

Among the COVID-19 patients are 203 who are hospitalized, including 110 whose condition is serious. Of those, 45 are in critical condition, 35 are intubated, and 16 are on ECMO (heart and lung) machines.

Nearly 5% (4.83%) of coronavirus test results received Sunday were positive, a significant rise from 3.94% on Friday. The infection coefficient on Thursday - the last day for which it is recorded - was 1.88, indicating a continued and significant expansion of the scope of the pandemic.

Two people have died of coronavirus in the past week, bringing the death toll to 8,244.

Meanwhile, the Health Ministry announced that starting next week, Israel will reopen to tourists.

Under the new plan, vaccinated tourists or tourists with valid recovery certificates from countries with low or moderate infection rates will be permitted entry. These tourists will be required to remain in isolation for 24 hours following their arrival in Israel, or until they receive negative results of a new PCR test carried out after arriving in Israel.

Those who are unvaccinated, as well as those who are residents of "red" countries, will not be permitted to enter Israel.