Israel is trending to have one of its most deadly months since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, new data by the Health Ministry has revealed. Moreover, it looks like the country will have the most people hospitalized in serious condition this month since the peak of the crisis.
The report comes despite reports by both newly appointed coronavirus commissioner Prof. Ronni Gamzu and Health Minister Yuli Edelstein that Israel has flattened the curve, as well as against the backdrop of a decision by the government to hold off rolling out any new restrictions for at least the next two weeks.
Looking at the data: In July, there were 977 patients hospitalized in serious condition, as opposed to 481 in April – the peak of the coronavirus in Israel. In April, the majority of serious patients (261) were over the age of 65, whereas in July the majority (388) were between the ages of 18 and 65. This month, there have already been 355 patients in serious condition in the first nine days and an average of 33.4 new patients per day. If the trend continues, by August 31, there will be between 1,056 and 1,222 new patients in serious condition.
The trend is also worrisome when it comes to intubated patients.
Some 222 patients were ventilated in April, 215 in July and 82 so far in August, with an average number of 9.4 new intubated patients per day. If the trend line continues, Israel will see between 197 and 268 ventilated patients this month.
Finally, when it comes to the nation’s death toll: 199 died of coronavirus in April, 192 in July and, so far, 78 in August. If this trend continues, there will be 268 more people dead from the virus by August 31.Hospitals are straining under the weight of the novel coronavirus. The latest daily report by the Health Ministry shows that some hospitals are at more than 100% capacity – in a month when hospitalizations are normally down – and that the coronavirus units of at least five major hospitals are bursting at their seamsAs of Sunday morning, the following coronavirus units showed more than 100% capacity – Hadassah: 194%, Sourasky Medical Center: 124%, Shaare Zedek: 120% and Sheba: 114%.Already in mid-July, health officials expressed concern that the country's hospitals would buckle.“If this growth continues, then we will be in danger,” warned Eli Waxman, former chairman of the National Security Council’s expert advisers committee on the coronavirus outbreak. “We must make sure that every few days the numbers are going down; otherwise, we will have to take more serious measures.”Since then, the numbers have not gone down.
As of Sunday morning, there were 24,433 people with active cases of coronavirus - 763 new cases within the last day. On Shabbat, only 8,587 people were screened, meaning that close to 9% of people who were screened tested positive.
The number of serious patients was 395, including 118 who were intubated.
On Sunday, the Health Ministry reported that there were 856 coronavirus patients being treated in Israeli hospitals; 99 of them were no longer infected with coronavirus.
Some 594 Israelis have died of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.