The highly contagious delta variant continues to spread across Israel. Of the 74,186 Israelis that were screened for the coronavirus in the past 24 hours, 1,372 (1.86%) tested positive. There are currently 7,924 active cases in the country, with 126 patients hospitalized, of whom 62 are in serious condition.
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The Health Ministry said on Tuesday that of those hospitalized, 64.5% are fully immunized, as are 67.7% of seriously ill patients. It also said that of all the Israelis that returned to the country from abroad in the last 10 days, 154 tested positive for COVID. Of those, 96 returnees were vaccinated and eight had recovered from the disease. Three of them returned from countries on the government's no-fly list, one from Uzbekistan and two from Russia.
The ministry has labeled one Israeli city as "red" over COVID morbidity. Ten localities are "orange" and 50 have been ranked "yellow" on the ministry's "stoplight" system. Each designation carries different restrictions on public life, particularly public gatherings in closed spaces.
Israel has reported 839,103 cases, including 6,451 deaths, since the outbreak of the pandemic last year.
Also on Tuesday, Health Ministry Director-General Professor Nachman Ash said at a press conference that the ministry was closely monitoring the situation. He warned that the ministry's no-fly list could change at any moment, and countries that are not currently "red" can be designated as such at any moment, requiring returnees to self-isolate. He also called on Israelis not to travel abroad unless necessary.
Ash also said that the ministry would recommend the government to reinstate the so-called "green pass" at every kind of gathering with more than 100 people. The "green pass" system differentiates between vaccinated and unvaccinated Israelis in terms of access to certain venues and activities. The Coronavirus Cabinet is set to discuss the ministry's recommendations on Thursday.
In the meantime, the Military Intelligence Directorate reported on Tuesday that the number of unvaccinated Israelis who got infected with COVID was 1.5 times higher than those fully immunized.
According to data, from the start of the current wave of infections, of those fully immunized 0.12% got infected; of those unvaccinated 0.18%; and of those who recovered from COVID, only 0.01% got reinfected.
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