Three more fatalities from complications linked to the coronavirus were reported in Israel on Wednesday, two of which were pronounced an hour apart, bringing Israel's known death toll to 26.
A 66-year-old woman who had suffered from a variety of medical conditions died Wednesday evening after complications from the virus.
Earlier on Wednesday, a 69-year-old woman, a caregiver who had pre-existing medical conditions, died in a Jerusalem hospital. Several hours later, a hospital in Holon reported that one of its coronavirus patients died: a 74-year-old man who had had poor health even before he contracted the virus. He died while in an induced coma.
A 98-year-old woman with pre-existing medical conditions who was hospitalized at Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba succumbed to COVID-19 overnight Tuesday.
Soroka reported Wednesday that 20 people are currently hospitalized in the medical center's dedicated unit for the treatment of corona patients, with six listed in serious condition, two in moderate condition, and the rest with light cases. The medical center added that an 18-year-old woman who had been hospitalized for two weeks with COVID-19 was released on Tuesday.
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As of Thursday evening the Health Ministry reported more than 6,000 confirmed cases in Israel – 95 of those are listed as in serious condition. Seventy-six of the serious cases, are in medically-induced comas and on ventilators. Another 129 patients are in moderate condition, with the vast majority – 5,602 – listed as light or minor cases.
Israel's hotel turned treatment facilities for light cases are currently treating 700 patients. The remaining 3,128 are at home.
A total of 241 corona patients have fully recovered.
The Bayit Balev rehabilitation center for geriatric patients in Bat Yam reported Wednesday that three cases of coronavirus had been diagnosed in its facility.
"There are two female patients. One appears to have been infected during tests outside Bayit Balev, along with her daughter, who is also positive for corona. In addition, an employee in the department kitchen is positive for coronavirus," a statement from Bayit Balev read. The two elderly patients were taken to the emergency room, and the employee is at home.
At the Wolfson Medical Center in Holon, a 67-year-old patient who had been in an induced coma and on a ventilator for two weeks was taken off the ventilator on Tuesday night and is breathing on her own. Her condition has been upgraded to moderate. The patients contracted the virus while visiting Egypt with her partner.
The director of the corona ICU at Wolfson called the woman's case "encouraging."
"Of course, we are continuing to monitor the patient's condition closely, and hope that we will soon be able to report more improvement," he noted.
Israel Hayom has elected to take a closer look at the "pre-existing conditions" that have been reported for all the corona fatalities in the country thus far and discovered that while the term might imply that the victims were already critically ill, in at least some cases the "pre-existing conditions" were common medical conditions that in approximately one-third of the Israeli population over 40 have: diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure.
Israel Hayom identified the "pre-existing conditions" from which 18 of the 21 victims suffered and discovered that eight were diabetics; eight had high blood pressure; and seven suffered from heart and vascular disease. Five of the patients were in varying states of dementia or had suffered strokes or a loss of cognitive functioning. Another four had respiratory illnesses. One patient who succumbed to coronavirus already had liver disease, an autoimmune condition, and cancer.
