The number of COVID-19 patients in Israel hospitalized in serious condition has more than trebled, rising from 187 on July 12 to 576 on Monday, of whom 78 were on ventilators, the Health Ministry reported Tuesday morning.
On June 22, the number of hospitalized corona patients listed in serious condition stood at only 44, the ministry said.
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Israel's death toll from coronavirus stood at 422 as of Tuesday.
From midnight Sunday to midnight Monday, a total of 1,855 new cases were confirmed by the 27,290 corona tests carried out in that same period. The percentage of positive results continued to rise, standing at 10.2% for that 24-hour period.
Meanwhile, the Knesset Corona committee decided on Tuesday morning not to approve the government's plan to close down restaurants, but did pass the rest of the parts of the cabinet's directives.
Per Tuesday's decision, restaurants will be allowed to operate with up to 20 customers sitting inside and 30 outside.
Chairwoman of the Knesset Corona committee, MK Yifat Shasha-Biton, supported the decision. Coalition Chairman Miki Zohar (Likud) reported that coalition members of the committee abstained.
CEO of the Israeli Restaurants Association Shai Berman said that "cancelling the order to close restaurants is a necessary step in light of the government's delusional decisions.
"We want to thank committee chairwoman Yifat Shasha-Biton, who according to her conscience and not according to the unrealistic dictates of the government, and for the health and economic security of the citizens of Israel," Berman said.
Zohar said in a tweet that the government had offered restaurateurs a "reasonable compromise" that would allow them to keep their businesses open, but that Shasha-Biton had "fallen into the trap set for her by the opposition, which is willing to endanger the public's health to bring down the government."
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