A 26-year-old man from Jerusalem with no known underlying health problems who died suddenly on Thursday morning was found to have been infected with COVID-19.
The man, a resident of the Ras al-Amud neighborhood, collapsed at his home and was evacuated via Magen David Adom to the emergency room at Hadassah-University Medical Center on Mt. Scopus, the hospital said.
MDA and medical personnel at the hospital made every attempt to resuscitate him, a statement by Hadassah said.
“At the hospital it was learned that he and his whole family were in isolation,” the statement said. “An immediate coronavirus test was performed and he was found positive.”
The family told the hospital he had no underlying medical conditions. He was also not vaccinated.
The cause of death is being further investigated.
Late Thursday, a 23-year-old COVID-19 patient from Nazareth died at EMMS Nazareth Hospital.According to staff, the patient did not suffer from pre-existing conditions.
"This is a painful reminder that the coronavirus hurts young and healthy people as well.," said the hospital's deputy director-general Prof. Fahed Hakim.
The news of his death comes against the backdrop of new data from the Health Ministry that showed that the reproduction rate (the “R” or number of people one person infects) is on the rise. According to the most recent report, the R is now 0.93, up from 0.9 the day before and around 0.79 at the beginning of the week.
At the same time, 40 children are reportedly in the hospital, several in serious condition, as well as nearly 50 pregnant women.