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Hospitals ‘on verge of collapse’: Israeli Physicians Association recommends full lockdown on red cities

Hundreds of new serious coronavirus patients, alongside an influx of flu patients expected in the coming winter months, may spell disaster for Israel’s health care system.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

As thousands of new coronavirus patients are diagnosed each day, Israeli doctors warn that the Jewish state’s hospitals are on the verge of collapse due to overcrowding, staff shortages, and a lack of resources.

Hundreds of new serious coronavirus patients, alongside an influx of flu patients expected in the coming winter months, may spell disaster for Israel’s health care system.

“As of today, close to 1,000 medical staff have been infected with the virus and more than 2,000 medical staff are in quarantine,” Dr. Zeev Feldman, chair of the Israeli Physicians Association, told Maariv.

“The rest are trying to withstand the onslaught and treat both corona patients and other patients. We are on the verge of collapse.”

“There is no choice… we must lock down the red cities – this is the most moral decision. If not, we will face two difficult choices: a full lockdown or collapse of the healthcare system, which would fatally harm both the economic and physical health of the country.”

Israel’s healthcare system is preparing for an expected influx of hospitalizations in the winter triggered by a combination of influenza and coronavirus infections, with health management organizations Clalit and Maccabi obtaining record numbers of influenza vaccines.

“Reducing the number of influenza patients through vaccines is valuable, as it will help lower the burden on the health system, in both clinics and hospitals,” Clalit CEO Prof. Ehud Dodson said in a statement on Sunday.

“It will allow medical staff to treat patients with coronary heart disease and other illnesses.”

But coronavirus isn’t the sole cause of Israel’s healthcare crisis. Israel has had the highest year-round hospital occupancy rates of the OECD countries for years.

Just tens of coronavirus patients requiring hospitalization were enough to push hospitals over capacity.

Israeli nurses have long complained of subpar working conditions, including heavy workloads and chronic understaffing, striking in July 2019 to protest the issues.

In July 2020, Israeli nurses officially declared a labor dispute and launched a modified strike, citing ongoing issues and a lack of training for nurses in coronavirus wards.

At the time, Ilana Cohen, head of the National Nurses Union, told Ynet, “The nurses are collapsing, the system is crashing…The government is abandoning the patients and nurses, and the healthcare system is drained.”

Racheli Mizen, head of the nursing department at Assuta Hospital in Ashdod, told Maariv that heavy workloads for staff are an ongoing issue.

“The staff is the most important resource of the health system, and it is likely that continuing to work them at such high intensity will lead to them quitting,” she said.

“It takes a long time to train staff on how to properly care for a coronavirus patient. The wave of morbidity will not stop now, and we expect the health system to have a problem with staff competency in the winter.”