Thirteen more people have tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the total number of cases in Israel to 39, the Health Ministry confirmed on Sunday. For the first time, health authorities could not trace the source of the infection of one of the patients.

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Health Ministry said seven of the patients recently returned from European countries, including Italy, Spain, Austria and Belgium, while the other six have contracted the virus in Israel after coming in direct contact with people already infected with COVID-19.

Busses being disinfected in northern Israel amid coronavirus fears ( Photo: Reuters )

Thirty-six people are still hospitalized with the virus, including a 38-year-old East Jerusalem man who remains in serious condition after driving a group of Greek pilgrims who positive for the virus upon their arrival in Greece. Three others appear to have recovered from the illness.

For the first time since the start of the outbreak in early February, the health authorities said they couldn't trace the source of the infection of a 40-year-old patient who lives in central Israel.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Health Minister Yaakov Litzman and high-profile officials from the Health Ministry ( Photo: Amit Shaabi )

One of the patient who returned from the Spanish Tenerife resort on March 3 is a woman from the northern city of Haifa, who has been in home-quarantine since her arrival back to Israel. She had flown from Tenerife to Madrid via Iberia Airline flight number 3943, and from Madrid to Tel Aviv via a flight number 3316 of the same airline.

Israelis arriving in Israel from Italy on Sunday ( Photo: Nadav Abas )

Another patient returned from Austria on March 5 and is also a resident of northern Israel. He had landed in the country at 6:05 pm and took a train from Ben Gurion Airport to the city of Acre. He has been in self-quarantine since then.

The third patient is a 60-year-old Jerusalem resident who has been in self-quarantine since March 6.