“In order to more accurately gauge the extent of the current morbidity for the purpose of setting policy, we ask that over the next three weeks a PCR test for the coronavirus be performed on everyone admitted for hospitalization at your institution,” Dr. Sigal Libert-Taub, head of the Health Ministry’s general medicine division, instructed the hospitals in a letter.

Researchers have already tracked a number of mutations of the variant called BA.2.86. The variant manages to evade the immunity the body is able to provide from previous infections.

According to the ministry, Israelis who have not received a COVID vaccination in the past six months are more vulnerable. It advised people in high risk groups, such as the elderly, or individuals with serious pre-existing health conditions, to get vaccinated for both COVID and influenza when clinics give their annual winter flu shots.

The number of active COVID cases in Israel is not clear. Health Ministry figures are regarded as partial because most Israelis have been testing themselves at home since the pandemic tapered off.

The Samson Assuta Ashdod University Hospital announced on Monday that as of Sunday night, the BA.2.86 variant now accounts for over 16% of cases in Israel. The hospital said its conclusions were based on Health Ministry data.

According to the ministry’s figures, there are 1,081 confirmed cases in Israel. Of that number 245 are hospitalized, including 45 are in serious condition. Of those 45 patients, five are in critical condition and 11 are on ventilators.

Israel closed its last COVID ward in April, opting to treat coronavirus patients in regular hospital wards.

The Health Ministry recorded 12,635 Israeli deaths from the coronavirus since an 88-year-old Holocaust survivor became the country’s first fatality on March 20, 2020.

More than 6.9 million people have died of COVID globally, according to the World Health Organization.

Image - Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90