Virus outbreak found at Tel Aviv hospital – report

Eleven staff members at Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Hospital have reportedly been diagnosed with the coronavirus.

Three doctors, two nurses and six other staff members were diagnosed with the pathogen and the hospital believes the infection was spread during team meals during work, the Ynet news site reported Tuesday.

Unnamed hospital officials reportedly said that social distancing guidelines were frequently disregarded within the medical center, including at a recent farewell party for an intern that was attended by 20 people in one room, many of them not wearing masks.

Figures published by the Health Ministry on Monday evening showed that 690 medical personnel across the country are currently in isolation — 97 doctors, 210 nurses and 383 other workers.

On Monday, the Health Ministry confirmed a coronavirus outbreak at the Tel Aviv Medical Palace nursing home, adjacent to the Ichilov Hospital.

The ministry said 10 people tested positive after a random sampling, including five asymptomatic staff members.

One of the sick residents was hospitalized and a male resident of the nursing home, who had complicated preexisting medical conditions, died.

Additionally, an orthopedic doctor at Soroka hospital in Beersheba and in the Clalit HMO was infected. Those who came in contact with him were to receive text messages ordering them to enter quarantine, but only if they hadn’t worn face masks since the doctor did wear one.

According to Health Ministry figures published Tuesday morning, there was an increase of 217 cases diagnosed in the previous 24 hours, with 19,338 recorded since the start of the pandemic.

After a sustained drop in new cases, the number of daily infections has been on the rise in recent weeks, and topped 200 one day late last week before dipping slightly over the weekend.

Among the sick, 36 people were in serious condition, 27 of whom were on ventilators, a slight increase over the previous day’s figures. Another 44 were in moderate condition and the rest were displaying mild symptoms.

The ministry data said 13,425 coronavirus tests were conducted on Monday, below Israel’s testing capacity.

No additional fatalities were recorded, keeping the death toll at 302.

Much of the resurgence of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, has been blamed on the education system, which has seen hundreds of cases in schools and kindergartens. The entire education system was shuttered for two months during the lockdown that began in mid-March.

The Education Ministry said Monday that 52 more students and teachers tested positive for the virus, bringing the total number of infections in the education system to 578. It also said 169 schools have closed due to infections.

On Tuesday, three additional schools were closed after infections were identified there: The Eshel Hanasi high school near Beersheba was closed after several members of a family were diagnosed, as was the elementary school in nearby Lehavim. The Haim Hefer elementary school in Netanya was closed until June 25 after a first-grader contracted the virus.

A senior Health Ministry official said Monday authorities were in the dark on how the coronavirus is spreading in Israel.

“Right now, we don’t have markers to detect who is spreading the virus, as we did in the beginning. We don’t know where we need to be particularly careful, and where we need to carry out more tests — and this is the problem,” Sigal Sadetzky, head of public health services in the Health Ministry, told the Kan public broadcaster.

While new infections are being recorded across the country, she said the situation was not “out of control” at this time.

“The disease is spreading more slowly now than it did previously because we have learned some things, [but] our [tracking] capabilities are worse than they were. It worries me,” Sadetsky said. “If we don’t stop the virus, it will continue to spread.”

Sadetsky did not say why the ministry’s ability to zero in on danger zones and at-risk persons had worsened, though the Shin Bet recently stopped its controversial program tracking down the contacts of patients.

Also Monday, Health Minister Yuli Edelstein chided lawmakers for failing to wear face masks.

MKs “walk around the Knesset without masks and call me ‘a nuisance’ when I tell them off,” Edelstein, a former parliamentary speaker, told the Knesset plenum.

“But when they fear they’ve been infected by the coronavirus, they use their personal connections, jump through hoops and cut the line [to get tested]. What about personal example?” he added.

Edelstein warned that if people did not adhere to the ministry’s social distancing rules, further easing of restrictions on the economy could be delayed.