Medical centers around the country, on the receiving end of the sixth Coronavirus wave, have reported an increase in patients needing to be hospitalized, those who are seriously ill and even in deaths.
Dr. Nadav Sorek, director of the infectious disease lab at the Samson Assuta Ashdod University Hospital said on Mondy that 25% of antigen tests for COVID-19 are positive now compared to only 10% in May. “The significance is twofold and worrying in light of the increase in the number of tests. In recent weeks, we have witnessed an increasing increase in positive tests from the total number of tests to detect and identify the Coronavirus, and if we take into account that the number of tests has increased at the same time, then the reality is even more complex.”
“If the criteria for being in another COVID-19 wave is an extreme increase in the number of positive tests, then we are in the midst of a wave.”
Dr. Nadav Sorek
The infectious disease expert added that “what mainly worries the healthcare system is an increase in infection among medical staffers, along with an increase in the number of critically ill patients as a result of an increase in the general patient rate. However, compared to the waves of the past and in light of the experience we have gained, vaccines and medications, most of our attention and concern is given to patients over the age of 60 who were infected along with suffering from chronic diseases.”
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The Rabin Medical Center’s Beilinson Hospital reported on Monday that it now has 36 COVID-19 patients in its reopened ward, with six in serious condition.
Current COVID numbers
According to the Health Ministry, 11,438 tested positive for the virus on Sunday, 68,000 during the past seven days. A total of 53,828 have an active infection, most of them with the BA5 sub-type of the Omicron variant. A total of 285 are in serious condition and 56 in critical condition. Fifty are respirated and one is connected to an ECMO machine that takes over for the heart and lungs. A total of 10,940 people in Israel have died of COVID-19 in the last 2.5 years and 26 during the past week.
Over 825,000 people aged 60 and over have received a fourth vaccination, and 4.5 million Israelis have gotten three shots. Internal medicine departments at Ziv Medical Center in Safed are the most overburdened, with 123% capacity, followed by Hillel Jaffe with 121%.
Despite the rise in infectious and serious cases, the Health Ministry continues to recommend wearing face masks indoors, especially in crowded places but has not demanded wearing them except in medical institutions, apparently because “business as usual” in Israel and most people will refuse to comply, especially in the current hot weather. Mask-wearing in public transit, synagogues and event halls is minimal.