No vacancy: Tel Aviv hospital reaches limit for COVID patients

Ichilov Hospital told the Health Ministry on Monday that it could not accept any more coronavirus cases requiring special attention.

By World Israel News Staff

Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Hospital announced on Monday it cannot accept new coronavirus patients who require additional nursing attention, citing the Health Ministry’s failure to institute a system to regulate patient allocation to various institutions throughout the nation.

According to a report broadcast by Army Radio, Ichilov is treating a total of 110 patients with coronavris, which is a greater number of patients than it is designed to care for.

Meanwhile, Rambam Hospital in Haifa opened a unit on Sunday staffed by IDF personnel, utilizing some 100 IDF doctors and nurses in an operation that marks the first time the army has deployed its medical staff to treat civilians.

The unit is housed in a converted parking garage.

“We have the equipment. We have the area. We have the beds. We have the monitors. We have the ventilators. What we didn’t have is personnel,” said Dr. Avi Weissman, Rambam’s deputy director, in an Associated Press report.

Israel’s coronavirus transmission rates have steadily declined since a nationwide lockdown went into effect when the Jewish High Holidays arrived.

According to the Health Ministry, there were 1,541 people hospitalized with the virus as of Monday, with 243 on ventilators and 837 in serious condition.