5,449 new COVID-19 cases reported, highest number since October

• Author: TZVI JOFFRE
• Published date: 29 December 2020
• Date: 29 December 2020

Of those infected, 593 patients were in serious condition and 146 patients were on ventilators. Some 30 people have died since the Health Ministry's Monday morning update, bringing the death toll to 3,256 since the beginning of the outbreak.

The high numbers come the day after the first case of community spread of the new coronavirus strain, recently discovered in the UK, was reported in Israel, as the country races to vaccinate at-risk populations.

The new strain is up to 70% more infectious than the older strain of the coronavirus, but is not expected to be resistant to currently available vaccines, according to health officials.

The number of Israelis vaccinated against the coronavirus is now higher than the number who have been infected with the virus since the beginning of the outbreak, Health Minister Yuli Edelstein announced on Tuesday.

Some 495,000 Israelis were vaccinated as of Tuesday morning, just nine days into the vaccination campaign, while 408,990 Israelis had...