Israelis shop at a food market ahead of the upcoming Jewish holiday of Passover as the country begins to emerge from coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic closures due to its rapid vaccine roll-out, in Tel Aviv, Israel, March 26, 2021. REUTERS/Corinna Kern

i24 News – With 41 percent fewer cases per day, Israel this week saw the biggest drop in coronavirus morbidity anywhere in the world, according to global trackers.

Only 651 new cases of coronavirus were logged on Thursday, compared to the average of between 5,000 to 6,000 new patients recorded daily two months ago.

According to the Health Ministry, the number of active cases was at 9,354 on Friday morning, dropping below the 10,000 mark for the first time in more than three months.

The drop in morbidity has led health officials to estimate that the fourth wave of the pandemic, driven by the highly contagious delta variant, was definitively over in Israel, allowing the relaxation of travel restrictions.

The achievement has been chalked up to the Jewish state’s world-leading vaccination campaign, including a rollout of the booster dose of the vaccine received by nearly 4,000,000 Israelis.

The number of patients in serious condition on Friday morning was at 227, including 133 on artificial lung ventilation.

Six people have died from the virus in the past 24 hours, bringing Israel’s overall pandemic death toll up to 8,081.