File photo: Xinhua

JERUSALEM, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Israel's Ministry of Health reported 115 new coronavirus cases on Friday, the highest daily increase since May 1, bringing the total cases to 16,987.

This is the fifth consecutive day that the number of patients has risen, after only five new patients were diagnosed on May 24.

In early May, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that if the number of daily new patients exceeds 100, there would be a halt in removing restrictions in Israel.

Because of the increase in morbidity, the health ministry held a special press briefing on Friday, amid a long holiday weekend, announcing that the government would consider closing all high schools in the state.

This is because many of the new patients are pupils and teachers, after the gradual reopening of schools.

The ministry has also instructed people not to visit elderly people because of the high infection risk.

The ministry figures also show that the number of active cases has risen on Friday, for the first time since April 15, currently reaching 1,927 out of 16,987 cases overall.

The number of death cases remained at 284, while the number of patients in serious condition increased from 37 to 39, out of 111 patients currently hospitalized.

The number of recoveries increased to 14,776, with 97 new recoveries since Thursday evening.