Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett receives a third shot of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine as Israel launches booster shots for over 40 year-olds in Kfar Saba, Israel August 20, 2021. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

i24 News – Israel logged 12,562 new Covid cases on Saturday, the lowest single-day tally since January 4, according to the latest update to the Health Ministry’s website.

The reproduction ratio of the virus was at 0.67, indicating a further decline in morbidity and the pace of the spread.

According to the Ministry, 822 patients were hospitalized in serious condition, including 256 critical patients on artificial lung ventilation.

The death toll, as of Saturday night, was at 9,841; it is widely estimated that it would pass the 10,000 mark by the end of the month.

The declining morbidity led the Israeli government to announce it will soon roll back the health curbs that are currently in place, including vaccination passports, yet excluding the mask mandate in closed spaces that will remain in place.

Since the first outbreak in early 2020, Israel — with a population of over nine million — registered over 3,535,000 cases of the virus.