Israel on Wednesday passed the grim milestone of 2 million coronavirus cases since the first positive test was recorded on Feb. 21, 2020, according to the latest Health Ministry data.
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While the total number of documented coronavirus infections since the start of the pandemic stands at 2,006,131, the actual number is likely much higher as the Jewish state struggles to keep its database coordinated with the rapid spread of the Omicron variant.
Of the 458,232 Israelis who tested for the virus Wednesday, 71,844 were found to have the disease, for an infection rate of 17.07%. There are 388,3923 active cases of the virus. There are 541 people in serious condition, 105 of whom are on ventilators.
Although 1,638,440 Israelis have recovered from the virus, 8,362 have died.
Around 145,000 students are currently confirmed to have COVID, while some 142,000 are now in quarantine due to having been exposed to a confirmed carrier.
In a press conference Wednesday, Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz said, "We expect a short wave whose peak we will see soon, after which there will be a decline. We must adhere to the guidelines in the coming weeks.
"We are providing all the tools: a consistent supply of vaccines, medicines that go from the healthcare providers to patients' homes, and testing on a massive scale of 400,000 [tests] a day. We have embarked on a huge initiative to distribute millions of home tests for free. It's a matter of social solidarity. We are both maintaining health and the market. We will continue to balance health, the economy, and democracy," he said.
Health Ministry Director-General Nachman Ash acknowledged the overwhelming nature of the highly infectious Omicron strain fueling the current fifth wave in an interview with Tel Aviv-based 103FM Radio Tuesday.
"Our estimate is that there are at least two or three times [the official daily case count]," said Ash. "It is not impossible that we're at 200,000 verified cases a day."
In the interview, Ash predicted that the current outbreak would peak "in another week or so."
He also warned daily cases would increase in the coming week as he noted serious cases requiring hospitalization were on the rise.
Meanwhile, the Health Ministry has released new findings that point to children and adolescents vaccinated against COVID-19 being better protected against the Omicron variant than the unvaccinated.
The study, conducted in collaboration with the Weizmann Institute of Science, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer's Gertner Institute, found vaccines administered in the past few months to be effective against the ultra-contagious variant.
Children aged 5 to 11 who received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine were half as likely to be infected with Omicron than unvaccinated children, the study found.
Additionally, adolescents aged 12 to 15 who received a booster dose within the last two months were four times less likely to be infected than those who did not.
In total, only about 12% of children aged 5 to 11 in Israel have received two doses of vaccine, and less than 12% of children aged 12 to 15 have received three doses.
Over 4.3 million people have received three doses of vaccine, and over 530,000 people have received four doses.
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