Israel's tally of coronavirus cases came to 33,947 on Thursday, as an additional 1,231 new cases were diagnosed in the last 24 hours, the Health Ministry said.
COVID-19 has so far claimed the lives of 346 Israelis and the number of serious cases stood at 118 as of noon Thursday, the ministry said.
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Additional data showed that there are currently 15,209 active virus cases. Hospitals nationwide have reopened their corona treatment wards.
The ministry noted that 27,542 tests were carried out over the past day.
Wednesday saw Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Health Minister Yuli Edelstein meet with National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat ahead of a potential decision on ordering local lockdowns on areas especially hit by the pandemic.
Israel has been rolling back a two-month lockdown imposed in mid-March in an effort to help the economy recover. But with the second outbreak in full swing, some lockdown measures are seemingly unavoidable.
While it remains unclear at this time which areas might be quarantined in "red cities" where morbidity has spiked over the past few weeks, neighborhoods in Modi'in Illit, Beit Shemesh, Jerusalem, Kiryat Malachi, Ramle, and Lod are likely to be restricted.
The pandemic seemed to have tightened its grip on medical personnel as well.
According to Dr. Zeev Feldman, head of the Israeli Medical Association, 2,639 doctors and nurses have been ordered to self-isolate and 1,333 have tested positive for the virus.
"We're on the front line," he told Israel Hayom. "Medical personnel come into daily contact with a corona-saturated work environment and are at increased risk of exposure and infection. There are medical staff who have already completed their second and third rounds of isolation."
Also on Wednesday, President Reuven Rivlin criticized the government's handling of the resurgent coronavirus pandemic, lamenting that it has no "clear doctrine" by which to fight the outbreak.
He further admonished the government for not establishing a central body to coordinate the country's response to the virus. He also blasted the Health and Defense ministries for locking horns over how to best handle the coronavirus crisis.
"There is no place for political calculations between the Defense Ministry and the Health Ministry. We must give the reins to a body that can bring the best result, while all other ministries are subordinate to it and are helping," Rivlin said.
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