Jerusalem, Aug 13 (IANS): Israel has reported 17 new single-day COVID-19 deaths, the highest since the pandemic hit the country in February, taking the overall toll to 639, the Health Ministry said.

The previous record was registered on August 4 with 15 deaths, reports Xinhua news agency.

The Ministry also reported 1,558 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of infections to 88,151.

The number of patients in serious condition decreased from 375 to 369, out of 762 patients currently hospitalized.

The number of recoveries rose to 62,109, with 2,029 new recoveries, while the number of active cases dropped to 25,403.

Earlier on Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a meeting with the ministers of education, health and finance, as well as the head of the National Security Council, on the opening of the school year.

"We are doing everything so that the school year opens on September 1. This is the target date," Netanyahu said in a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office.

"We also make sure that there will be all of the means, and financial, material and organizational resources to do this, which is important to all citizens of Israel," he added.