7 deaths take virus toll to 150, including 8th resident of J’lem nursing home

The death toll in Israel from the coronavirus rose to 150 Friday afternoon, an increase of seven from the previous evening.

One of the victims, a 96-year-old woman, was the eighth fatality from the Maon Horim assisted living facility in Jerusalem, the Walla news site reported.

Roughly one-third of the COVID-19 fatalities in Israel were residents of elderly living centers.

Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign Up

In addition, a 76-year-old woman succumbed to the coronavirus at Wolfson Medical Center in Holon, the hospital said, adding that she had preexisting illnesses.

An 84-year-old woman died at the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, the hospital announced, adding that she also suffered from preexisting medical conditions.

A 66-year-old man from Haifa died at the city’s Carmel Medical Center, the hospital’s first fatality from COVID-19.

A man, 70, died at the Mayanei Hayeshua Medical Center in Bnei Brak and a 90-year-old woman died in the Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan.

There were no further details given on the identities of the victims.

Magen David Adom emergency services workers, wearing protective clothing, arrive to test residents of Jerusalem’s Nofim home for the elderly for Covid-19, March 27, 2020. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

According to the Health Ministry’s latest figures, there have been 12,855 confirmed coronavirus cases in Israel.

The ministry said 182 people were in serious condition, 129 of them on ventilators.

Another 157 people were in moderate condition and the rest had mild symptoms.

There have been 2,967 Israelis who recovered from COVID-19.

The latest increases came a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu green-lighted a general plan to ease restrictions on economic activity and “stay home” orders, potentially allowing some businesses to open as soon as next week.

A statement from Netanyahu’s office described the plan, which still must be approved by the full cabinet, as “responsible, cautious and gradual” and said it would allow for a limited opening of businesses.

No specific timeline for the plan was detailed, but according to Hebrew media reports some businesses could reopen as early as next week.

Also Thursday, the ministerial committee formulating Israel’s response to the coronavirus outbreak approved a decision to relax lockdown restrictions in the ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak, while extending closure rules in Jerusalem neighborhoods until April 19.

Medical workers perform COVID-19 tests at a mobile testing station in the Geula neighborhood, Jerusalem, April 16, 2020 (Nati Shohat/Flash90)

Bnei Brak, an ultra-Orthodox suburb of Tel Aviv with nearly 200,000 residents, has the highest per capita rate of infection in the country and the second highest number of cases overall — 2,201 as of Friday morning. Jerusalem leads with 2,477 cases.

Two weeks ago Bnei Brak was placed under a strict lockdown, with residents only allowed to leave municipal boundaries to work in key industries or to receive medical care.

Several Jerusalem ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods were put under lockdown on Sunday. There was a riot over the restrictions in the Jerusalem ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Mea Shearim on Thursday evening, with protesters hurling objects at police forces, who responded by throwing stun grenades, one of which hit a 10-year-old girl passing by.

The Kan public broadcaster reported Thursday that Arab neighborhoods in East Jerusalem were likely to be placed under lockdown next, following an increase in infection rates. Kan said that Silwan and Ras al-Amud were among the neighborhoods facing closures.