A senior health expert said on Thursday that Israel’s coronavirus spread is currently one of the highest in the world, Ynet reported. The report comes as the Health Ministry confirmed over 600 seriously ill coronavirus patients on Thursday morning, the number that the Health Ministry earlier this month determined as the threshold for a lockdown. Since Israel’s hospital can only properly treat 1,200 seriously ill COVID patients, over 600 patients mean that the hospitals will be at maximum capacity within weeks. Prof. Ran Balicer, a senior medical advisor to the coronavirus cabinet, thinks that Israel can even reach 1,200 seriously ill patients within days as it is currently averaging about 100 new seriously ill COVID patients per day. “Infection data in Israel today is among the highest in the world, with around 90 to 100 new serious patients a day,” Prof. Balicer told Ynet. “These are very complex numbers because 100 new serious patients a day is a huge burden on the health system and therefore a cause for concern.” Balicer added that the spread of the virus has slowed in Israelis over 60 due to the booster shot but it’s not enough to stem the tide. “In the last two days, we have seen a real slowdown in the number of new infections among people aged 60 and over, most of whom are vaccinated with the third vaccine dose,” he said. “This is important because it is the age group from which most severe cases are originating, but still, 100-90 severe patients a day means the healthcare system is still at risk.” Israel is expected to expand its booster shot campaign to all Israelis 12 and older beginning next month as preliminary research shows that the third vaccine has a significant effect on preventing serious illness and transmission of the virus. Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz wrote on Twitter this week that he left Assaf HaRofeh Hospital in shock after seeing young seriously ill coronavirus patients who weren’t vaccinated, adding that the doctors told him that if these patients had been immunized they definitely wouldn’t be seriously ill. אני יוצא מזועזע ממחלקת קורונה באסף הרופא. פגשתי כאן אנשים צעירים שמאופשזים עם מחלה קשה מאוד ולא מחוסנים. הצוות המדהים, שעובד כל כך קשה, אמר לי בצורה חד משמעית: אם היו מתחסנים, לא היו מגיעים הנה! חברים תשמרו על החיים שלכם. זה קורע לב. ותודה ענקית למנהלת ביה״ח ד״ר אסנת לב ציון. pic.twitter.com/UOi5BdQi94 — Nitzan Horowitz نيتسان هوروفيتس ניצן הורוביץ (@NitzanHorowitz) August 18, 2021 There are currently 62,163 active coronavirus cases in Israel, of whom 603 are seriously ill and 106 are ventilated The Health Ministry confirmed 17 virus fatalities on Tuesday and four on Wednesday, raising the total death to 6,726. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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