A teenager receives a vaccination against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Tel Aviv, Israel, January 24, 2021. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/File Photo

i24 News – The reproduction rate of Covid-19 in Israel is inching back up again, nearly reaching one, fresh data released Thursday by the Israeli Health Ministry shows.

The R value currently stands at 0.92 and has been steadily creeping upward since a low point of 0.66 on February 11. At the height of the omicron wave, the R value reached as high as 2.12 on December 30.

The R number is based on data from 10 days earlier.

The reproduction rate is closely watched by health authorities as a sign that the virus is either slowing down or multiplying. The baseline of one means that each person is passing it on to another person. Any number above one indicates that the virus is multiplying.

A total of 6,738 Covid cases were registered over the previous 24-hour period, with a positive test rate of 11.93 percent out of 56,488 tests to detect the virus.

The number of patients listed in serious condition stands at 332, with 166 critical and 149 on ventilators.

There are currently 40,096 active patients in Israel.

A total of 10,405 people have died in Israel since the official start of the pandemic two years ago.