There were more COVID-19 cases identified in Israel during January this year than the entirety of 2021, according to a report released Thursday.
The Coronavirus National Information and Knowledge Center said some 960,500 coronavirus cases were identified during 2021, while in January alone, as of Wednesday, more than 1,160,000 have tested positive.
The massive rise in cases has been blamed on the fast-spreading Omicron variant. On Wednesday, 67,723 new cases were recorded, according to Health Ministry data published Thursday. With more than 307,000 PCR and antigen tests carried out on Wednesday, the positivity rate stood at 24.58 percent.
As of Thursday afternoon, 480,501 Israelis were actively infected, with 2,483 hospitalized, 931 of those in serious condition, and 212 of them on ventilators. A week ago, serious cases stood at 587, and two weeks ago the figure was just 283.
Over the past week, more than 520,000 Israelis have tested positive for COVID, with experts believing that the actual figure could be several times higher. Also in the past week, 146 Israelis with COVID died — a 73.8% increase over the previous week — bringing the total death toll since the start of the pandemic to 8,541. A month ago, the average weekly death toll was less than 10.