JERUSALEM, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- Israel's Ministry of Health reported 8,568 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, bringing the total to 245,494.
The death toll increased to 1,569, with 41 new fatalities, while the number of patients in serious condition rose from 797 to 834, out of 1,563 patients currently hospitalized.
The number of recoveries rose to 174,506, with 6,702 new ones, while the active cases stand at 69,418.
Earlier in the day, the Israel Employment Service announced that the total number of unemployed people in Israel exceeded 900,000.
Since Sept. 17, a day before a full nationwide lockdown took effect in Israel, 178,020 additional Israelis have applied for unemployment benefits, the bureau said.
The overall number of unemployed people in Israel rose to 909,460.
The unemployment rate in Israel currently stands at 21.7 percent, compared with a peak of 27.5 percent at the end of April.
In February, just before the pandemic broke out in Israel, the unemployment rate in the country was only 3.9 percent which was around 162,500 people. Enditem