Israel's Health Ministry on Thursday morning reported that 58,422 new COVID-19 cases were diagnosed on Wednesday, for a total of 475,117 active cases nationwide.

The number of those hospitalized with coronavirus now stands at 2,753, while the number of serious cases has risen to 1,096, with 258 patients intubated.

Since the start of the pandemic, over three million people in Israel have contracted coronavirus, and 9,013 of them have died. This number amounts to approximately 1 death per 1,000 Israelis, since the country's population is around nine million. However, since only about three million Israelis have contracted coronavirus, the true death rate is around one death per 333 COVID-19 diagnoses.

The death rate for measles, by comparison is one out of every 1,000 measles cases.

The Ministry also said that over 78,000 Israelis are in quarantine, and 6,134 healthcare staff are either quarantined or have COVID-19. This includes 825 doctors and 1,808 nurses who are coronavirus-positive.

In the school system, there are 28,347 new cases of coronavirus, and over 185,000 students have active cases.

On Sunday, Hebrew University researcher Prof. Doron Gazit told 103 FM Radio that, "We are definitely at the peak" of infections, but estimated that, "during this coming week we will see dozens of fatalities per day."

"We could have done more and we should have done more. If you want me to get specific about State policies, the State definitely is tolerating the deaths," he added. "I think that during this wave, as opposed to previous waves, we will see excess deaths. Though that is the last measure that comes up in this wave of illness, and that is a good sign."