Israel's virus death toll jumps to 101, with 10,743 confirmed cases

175 people in serious condition, with 129 patients on ventilators; further surge in deaths expected, but experts encouraged by relatively slow rise in cases

The Health Ministry announced late Saturday evening that Israel’s death toll from the coronavirus stood at 101, with five more deaths reported between Saturday morning and night.

According to Health Ministry figures late Saturday, Israel has 10,743 confirmed coronavirus cases, including 175 in serious condition and 129 people on ventilators.

Another 154 people were in moderate condition, the ministry said Saturday, with the rest having mild symptoms. Close to 7,000 of those diagnosed with the disease are hospitalized at home.

As of Saturday evening, 1,341 have recovered from the illness.

Magen David Adom medical team members, wearing protective gear, handle a coronavirus test sample at a drive-through site in Tel Aviv, March 22, 2020. (Flash90)

Israeli health officials are expecting a surge in coronavirus deaths in the next 10 days, according to a Friday report.

The rise in deaths does not signify an increase in infections, however. Patients who are already hospitalized and on respirators are likely to succumb to the virus in the coming days, according to predictive models from the Health Ministry, Channel 13 reported.

Almost all of those who have died from COVID-19 in Israel have been elderly and suffered from preexisting conditions, according to hospital officials. The novel coronavirus has been spreading quickly in nursing homes around the country, raising intense concern for the safety of elderly residents.

Experts have pointed to the relatively slow rise in the number of patients on ventilators as a source of potential encouragement, and also note the relatively slow rise in the number of new cases.

But putting a dent in the optimism, health officials are projecting that Israel will fall short of testing 10,000 people a day for the coronavirus in the immediate term because of a shortage of a key reagent.

Police officers at a temporary checkpoint near the Old City in Jerusalem on April 10, 2020 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

A national lockdown barring intercity travel came into effect Tuesday ahead of the Passover holiday and was lifted Friday morning. Separately, a curfew was maintained over the first night of the holiday on Wednesday, to prevent further spread of the virus, and lifted at 7 a.m. on Thursday morning.

More than 100,000 people have died globally of the coronavirus. On Saturday, the US surpassed Italy as the country with the highest death toll from the disease with over 20,000 deaths.