Jerusalem, Jan 17 (IANS): The Israeli health ministry announced 27,167 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday, raising the country's total number of infections to 1,785,551.

The death toll from Covid-19 in Israel grew by 16 to 8,319. The number of patients in critical condition went up by 49 to reach 436 on Sunday, the highest daily increase in more than three months, Xinhua news agency reported.

The number of active Covid-19 cases in Israel has reduced to 259,204, according to the ministry, while the rate of positive results from all daily Covid-19 tests conducted in the country has dropped from 14.02 per cent to 9.5 per cent.

According to the Israel Defense Forces, the number of active Covid-19 cases among Israeli soldiers reached 11,542 on Sunday, a new high since the pandemic began in the country in February 2020.

Israel's Covid-19 reproduction number indicator, also known as the R number, has reduced to 1.59 from 2.12 in late December 2021. The patient count climbs exponentially when the R number is bigger than one.