26-year-old Jerusalem man collapses in home, dead from corona

The man had no underlying health conditions, his family said. 

By David Isaac, World Israel News 

A 26-year-old man from Ras al-Amud, an Arab neighborhood in Jerusalem died from corona on Thursday after collapsing in his home.

The Magen David Adom team found him without a pulse and began life-saving measures. He was then evacuated to the emergency room of Hadassah University Medical Center. Despite ongoing efforts at resuscitation, the hospital was forced to determine his death.

“At the hospital it was learned that he and his whole family were in isolation,” the hospital said. “An immediate coronavirus test was performed and he was found positive.”

The family says the man had no underlying health conditions.

The death comes just before a lockdown for the holiday of Purim is set to take effect and growing concerns about mutations of the disease and a recent rise, after a promising decline, in the reproduction rate of the disease (the number of people a single person infects).

The Health Ministry reported Thursday that it found seven cases of the California variant of the disease. According to a study in Science Magazine, the variant may be more transmissible and more lethal.

“This variant is concerning because our data shows that it is more contagious, more likely to be associated with severe illness, and at least partially resistant to neutralizing antibodies,” says senior study author Charles Chiu.

Israel originally closed its airport in early February out of a fear of corona mutations, particularly the UK variant. The country maintains a tight seal on those entering the country, recently deciding to limit the number to 200 a day.

There have been reports that the third wave of the pandemic, possibly due to variants, is taking a heavier toll on pregnant women. Israel’s Ministry of Health reported on Thursday that four children and six women who are pregnant or have recently given birth are in critical condition from corona.

In total, 38 children and 48 pregnant women are hospitalized with the disease.

The total number of serious cases in Israel is 770.