Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Israel Records 550 New Infections with Coronavirus in 24 Hours


Sat 04 Apr 2020 | 12:32 PM
Ahmed Moamar

The Ministry of Health in Israel announced on Saturday that 550 new infections with the Coronavirus were registered within the last 24 hours.

The new infection bring the total number to 7589 confirmed cases.

The ministry released a statement said the death toll of the deadly virus were 42 deaths.

As of Saturday morning the Health Ministry has reported that 7,589 people in Israel have been infected with the novel Coronavirus.

The ministry's report also showed that some 115 people were in serious condition, including 98 are on respirators.

The 41 death was an 88 year-old woman who was hospitalized in Ichilov Hospital, and the 42 was a 67 year-old woman hospitalized in Beersheba's Soroka Medical Center. Both had a history of pre-existing conditions.

Though the number of infected is reported to be just over 7,500, the Health Ministry narrowed the criteria for being tested on Friday despite opening up availability on Monday, reporting a shortage of a chemical used in testing.

Also on Friday Israel Defense Forces Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu affirmed that the Israel Defense Forces will provide the civilians of Bnei Brak with assistance, as preparations for traffic restrictions in and around the ultra-Orthodox city were put into place.

The same evening, the National Emergency Authority published a procedure for approving entry and exit from the restricted area.

Four more people died on Friday numbers 37-40 all elderly people.

The government officially decided to crack down on Bnei Brak on Thursday, approving a full military-enforced closure on the city.

Armed troops from the IDFs Paratrooper Brigade began being deployed early Friday to work with the Homefront Command and Netanyahu stressed that the responsibility for enforcing these new restrictions, including enclosing the city, rests with the Public Security Ministry and the Israel Police.

Bnei Brak has more coronavirus per capita than any other city in Israel, the Health Ministry showed. On Friday, 1,061 people were diagnosed with the virus there - up 513 people in the last three days.

At a meeting of the Knesset Coronavirus committee on Thursday, Maccabi Health Services CEO Prof. Ran Saar said that his fund handles the healthcare of half of the city's residents and, according to various indications, about 38% of the residents of Bnei Brak are ill, which is 75,000 people.

In comparison, Jerusalem, with close to 1 million residents, has 1,132 cases.