ISRAELI ARMY REPORTS NO NEW COVID CASES AMONG ITS TROOPS

The Israeli army has reported no new coronavirus cases in its forces for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, according to a tweet on Sunday, the Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) reported.

The majority of Israeli soldiers have already been vaccinated against the virus. The exact numbers are unknown, but estimates suggest there are some 170,000 active soldiers and 465,000 reservists. Infection rates have also fallen among the broader population.

There were 13 new cases in the past day, the Health Ministry said on Sunday. Of 9,200 tests carried out, only 0.1 percent were positive, the ministry said. The number of patients with severe cases of COVID-19 has also fallen to 102, down from 1,200 in late January. Given the low case rates, most restrictions have now been lifted in Israel, although masks remain mandatory in public indoor spaces.

So far, some 5.4 million people in Israel have received the vaccine against COVID-19 - about 60 percent of the population of 9 million. Nearly 5.1 million people have been fully vaccinated.

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