Senior Health Ministry official: Tens of thousands in Israel won't die from virus

A top Health Ministry is skeptical of predictions that large numbers of Israelis will die from the new coronavirus.

“I’m scared. Do I think this will happen? No, I don’t think tens of thousands will die here. There will be death because this is a serious disease,” Dr. Boaz Lev, head of the ministry’s epidemic unit, tells Kan public radio.

In a television interview last night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned the virus could kill “tens of thousands” in Israel and claimed it could be the biggest threat to humanity since the Middle Ages.

Lev also says the new requirements for people to remain at hope will help curb the spread of the virus.

“We’ll see the results in another ten days,” he says. “Gloves and masks aren’t the solution, rather distancing from each other.”