The Hostages and Missing Families Forum's top medical expert lamented Wednesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hospital visit on Tuesday with former hostages with compromised immune systems was an irresponsible act, especially after the prime minister claimed on Wednesday in court that he was suffering from a stubborn cold and bronchitis.
Netanyahu motioned to have his court testimony in his corruption trial end early on Wednesday, saying his bronchitis "refuses to fade." "If Netanyahu has a cold that refuses to fade as he claimed on Wednesday in court, why did he visit former captives with a weakened immune system on Tuesday and endanger them?", Professor Hagai Levine, head of the medical division for the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
"If Netanyahu has a cold that refuses to fade as he claimed on Wednesday in court, why did he visit former captives with a weakened immune system on Tuesday and endanger them?" tweeted Professor Hagai Levin, head of the medical division for the Hostages and Missing Families Forum and until recently the head of the Israeli Association of Public Health Physicians.
Beilinson Hospital, where Netanyahu visited Guy Gilboa-Dala a day after his release from Hamas captivity on Monday, was presumably not aware of the prime minister's condition or that he was feeling unwell.
It should be mentioned that the updated protocol for treating the former hostages, prepared by the Ministry of Health, notes that "In light of winter illness, the proximate treating teams will be inoculated with the influenza and coronavirus vaccines." It was further stressed that "In light of concern that the immune status of the former captives is compromised due to continuous starvation and poor sanitation conditions, the introduction of sick individuals with contagious diseases into the facility must be prevented" – a measure that was most likely not enforced during the prime minister's visit.
A supplementary directive from the Ministry of Health is to provide instruction to anyone not vaccinated who comes into contact with the former captives, and to guide them on the use of a mask if needed, as well as to ensure proper hand hygiene.
