JERUSALEM 

Israel on Friday confirmed another 1,889 cases infected with the novel coronavirus.

According to the Health Ministry, the total count of cases in the country rose to 58,559, including 446 deaths, since the virus was first detected on Feb. 21.

A total of 25,887 people have so far recovered and been discharged from hospitals, the ministry said.

Earlier this month, Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said that the country was experiencing a second wave of the pandemic and the government might impose a lockdown if the country sees a surge of 2,000 cases a day.

Israel lifted most of the COVID-19 measures after the daily number of virus cases dropped below 20 last month, reopening schools, universities, shopping malls, and restaurants.

Since first appearing in China last December, the novel coronavirus has spread to at least 188 countries and regions. The US, Brazil, India, and Russia are currently the countries hardest hit in the world.

The pandemic has killed over 633,600 people worldwide, with more than 15.52 million confirmed cases, according to figures compiled by the US’ based Johns Hopkins University.

The number of recoveries from the pandemic across the globe has topped 8.87 million.

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz