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Israel’s corona cases top 12,500, death toll reaches 131

On Wednesday evening, Israel reported over 12,500 coronavirus cases, with 131 deaths attributed to the deadly virus.

By World Israel News Staff and Israel Hayom via JNS

As of Wednesday evening, more than 12,500 Israelis had tested positive for coronavirus, which has so far killed 131 people in the country.

According to the country’s Health Ministry earlier in the week, 181 patients were currently listed in serious condition, of which over 130 were on ventilators. The vast majority of cases (9,402) are defined as light or minor.

A total of 1,214 coronavirus carriers are being treated in hotels converted to quarantine facilities, while 7,145 are quarantined in their homes. Over 2,500 people have recovered from the virus to date, making the recovery-to-death ratio nearly 20:1, twice as high as it was on April 6, when 10 corona patients in Israel were recovering for every one patient who died.

The Health Ministry’s Administration for Strategic and Economic Planning on Tuesday published figures breaking down confirmed cases by community. As of Tuesday morning, Jerusalem, Israel’s largest city, had the highest number of cases at 2,258, followed by Bnei Brak with 2,053 and Tel Aviv-Jaffa with 468.

Modi’in Illit, which like Jerusalem and Bnei Brak is home to a large ultra-Orthodox population, had 239 confirmed cases as of Tuesday. Petach Tikvah had 229 cases. Rishon Letzion, Israel’s fourth-largest municipality, had 209 cases, Ashdod 195 and Haifa 139. Rehovot, a city of 110,000, had 104 cases. Lod and Ramle, home to mixed Jewish and Arab populations, reported 69 and 58 cases, respectively.

Data is also now available for Israeli Arab communities: Jisr a-Zarka had 35 confirmed cases on Tuesday, and Umm al-Fahm had 48.

As part of the government’s continued efforts to check the spread of coronavirus, Israel’s Security Cabinet authorized overnight on Monday a nationwide curfew on Jewish communities, which began on 5 p.m. on Tuesday and was set to last until 5 a.m. on Thursday.

The decision curbs the traditional Mimouna celebrations that mark the end of Passover in some communities, and the rush on bakeries, which generally open as soon as the holiday ends.

Meanwhile, Israel Defense Forces Home Front Command Maj. Gen. Tamir Yadai said on Monday that the nation needed to be prepared for the coronavirus “event” to last a year, but that steps must be taken to restore the economy and to discuss “coping strategies,” rather than an “exit strategy.”

Speaking to military correspondents, Yadai said he believed that “we must return to normal, gradually, especially to work.”

He warned that social and economic problems were developing along with the corona health crisis, and noted that the Home Front Command was handling the issue of Israelis returning from abroad, who needed to be quarantined.

“Four to six new hotels will be opened to accommodate everyone. There are 2,000 to 2,500 people who will need to spend time [in quarantine] in a hotel,” he said.

Addressing the matter of the ultra-Orthodox sector, where the corona infection rate is high, Yadai told reporters that the accommodations set up for the sector could supply everything that they need, including the most stringent kashrut supervision.