The number of coronavirus deaths in Israel since the start of the pandemic has passed the 500 mark, and stood at 502 as of midnight Thursday.
In the 24-hour period from midnight Wednesday to midnight Thursday, 1,785 new cases were confirmed. A total of 20,199 tests were conducted in that same time frame.
According to reports, many shopping centres in the country are said to be planning to reopen this weekend, in spite of the government restrictions.
Israel has the fifth-highest number of new coronavirus infections per capita in the world, overtaking the United States, according to data compiled by a scientific publication based at Oxford University.
A new Hebrew University report published on Thursday stated that Israel has managed to gain control of the second wave of the coronavirus, thanks to a recent stabilisation in the number of seriously and moderately ill patients.
Internal Health Ministry data on Wednesday showed a significant slowdown in the number of seriously ill cases and fatalities in the latest wave of infections, when compared to the first wave in March-April.
