In an effort to curb the spread of the highly contagious Delta coronavirus variant, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced Wednesday that the government would allocate billions of shekels to strengthen the country's increasingly overwhelmed healthcare system.
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"We are allocating NIS2.6 billion ($804 million) to the healthcare system to double our capacity [to care for COVID patients]," he said in a televised broadcast. "We are leaving no stone unturned in trying to curb the current infection wave without imposing restrictions that would destroy the Israeli economy. The third shot [vaccination campaign] is a game-changer."
The budget will allow hospitals nationwide to bring 100 doctors on staff, as well as 500 nurses and 200 additional staff members. On top of that, Bennett convened the special Coronavirus Cabinet to discuss additional restrictions, after experts said that Israel could expect 17,000 new cases per day if the current infection rate continued. The new measures were to include limits on gatherings and various enforcement efforts that would prevent large venues from operating in full capacity. Final approval by ministers was expected late Wednesday.
The Health Ministry warned that unless the morbidity rate was curbed, the number of hospitalized coronavirus patients could jump to a staggering 2,400 cases by early September, with 1,200 of them in serious condition. The figures would then double two weeks later, experts said.
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