Knesset's Special Committee on Dealing with the Coronavirus Pandemic finds "organizational and conceptual failures in the decision-making process" led by the government. Continued economic shutdown may cause the economy irreparable damage, it warns.
Health Ministry: 153 people are in critical condition, among them 113 on ventilators, with more than 9,000 carriers nationwide. Across the country, 181 patients are in moderate condition and 7,930 are experiencing mild symptoms. Thus far, 683 Israelis have recovered and have been released home.
“Thanks to the creative thinking of using technology that is normally used against enemies, I hope we will be able to win in the fight against COVID-19,” says Dr. Yossi Shaya, of the Rabin Medical Center.
Israel is one of eight countries in the world selected to host clinical research trials on the rheumatoid arthritis drug, Kevzara. The study will span a period of around two months and comprise 40 coronavirus patients in the country and around 300 across the globe.
Beginning Tuesday at 4 p.m. until Saturday night at 8 p.m. the government is expected to ban movement between cities. From Wednesday at 2 p.m., just before Passover begins that evening, until 7 a.m. on Thursday, Israelis will not be allowed to leave their homes.
Ten Israeli corona patients recover for every one who dies, a much higher ratio than in most OECD countries. Some 141 COVID-19 patients listed in serious condition, with 107 on ventilators. A total of 51 Israelis have succumbed to the disease.
"We cannot hold an entire community responsible for the rogue actions of a few," Rivlin says. Netanyahu: The pandemic does not differentiate between the ultra-orthodox and the secular, Arabs and Jews, and neither do we.
Modi'in Mayor Haim Bibas says government bureaucracy is keeping cities from dealing with the health crisis in an optimal manner, and urges mayors and local authority heads to set up "independent war rooms."
Police to stop any cars crossing city limits, and occupants will have to justify their trip. Jerusalem to be divided into eight districts to allow for corona quarantine. Health Ministry wants quarantine expanded to additional cities with large haredi populations.
When reality threatens the very fundamentals of fiction, a besieged author arms herslef with grace from the farthest point on earth.
