Israel’s Health Ministry confirmed 2,715 new coronavirus cases on Sunday morning, a typically lower rate seen on Sunday due to the lower number of tests performed on Shabbos. There are currently 38,008 active cases, which is an increase of almost 14,000 cases just over the past week.

There are 513 seriously ill patients, of whom 139 are ventilated – the highest number of seriously ill patients since the pandemic began. The death toll has risen to 1,108.

The government convened on Sunday to vote on a nationwide lockdown beginning on erev Rosh Hashanah on September 18. Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said at the beginning of the meeting that the lockdown is not negotiable and if the plan is not accepted, there will be no alternative plan, adding that the consequences of not implementing a lockdown will be worse than the economic consequences of implementing one.

A decision must be made before 11 p.m. on Sunday, when Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is leaving to Washington for the signing of the peace agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

The IDF’s Coronavirus National Information and Knowledge Center reported on Sunday that the coronavirus is currently spreading faster than at any time in the past two months, with the fastest pace seen in the past week. The report added that the health system is at risk of collapse.

According to the report, Israel’s rate of positive results on national coronavirus tests, currently about 9%, is one of the highest in the world and that all of Israel’s population sectors currently are suffering from high infection rates.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)