8 deaths take virus toll to 151 as Israel ramps up testing
Health Ministry says 168 people are in serious condition with 122 of them on ventilators; 12,982 confirmed coronavirus cases
The death toll in Israel from the coronavirus rose to 151 Friday evening, an increase of eight from the previous evening, the Health Ministry said as the country hit a record number of tests.
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.
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.
According to the Health Ministry’s latest figures, there have been 12,982 confirmed coronavirus cases in Israel.
The ministry said 168 people were in serious condition, 122 of them on ventilators.
Another 162 people were in moderate condition and the rest had mild symptoms.
There have been 3,126 Israelis who recovered from COVID-19.
Also Friday, the ministry announced that it had conducted a record 11,908 coronavirus tests the previous day, in a sharp increase from the past several days, which saw the figure fall to between 6,000-7,000.
Increased testing is seen as vital to being able to slowly reopen the economy and ease social distancing restrictions on the population.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has set a goal of 30,000 tests a day, but a shortage of a key reagent meant that Israel had struggled to approach 10,000.
Efforts to hit the target also received a further boost with the Foreign Ministry saying it had signed a deal with Chinese company BGI that will see the firm send lab equipment to Israel by the end of next week, allowing for conducting some 12,000 tests per day.
Once established, the BGI equipment will expand the scope to perform as many as 20,000 tests per day, the ministry said, adding that tests will be performed in Israel by Israeli companies selected by the Health Ministry.
The latest increases came a day after Prime 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.
The Times of Israel Community.