Israel to Go Into Full Lockdown on Friday, Closing Schools and Workplaces

[Mary Wilson]

Haaretz Published at 18:47

Authorities in Israel, as well as the West Bank and Gaza, are grappling with the current increase in coronavirus cases, which has prompted directives to curb its spread but also an effort to mitigate the economic consequences of the crisis.

Israel has entered a third nationwide lockdown, and has severely limited the entry of foreigners into the country as cases continue to spike.

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...down-1.9427410

[Mary Wilson]

Two Patients Denied Life-saving Care Amid ‘Explosion’ of Serious COVID-19 Cases

Survival chances are limited without the ECMO oxygenation machine, which was denied to patients amid severe overcrowding

Ido Efrati
Published at 18:33

For the first time since the onset of the pandemic in Israel, seriously ill patients were unable to receive life-saving treatment due to hospital overload. No hospital space was found over the weekend for two patients that needed to be hooked up to a life-saving ECMO oxygenation machine which supports cardiac and pulmonary function.

Dr. Yigal Kassif who heads the ECMO services at Sheba Hospital, and also heads the Israel ECMO Society (a professional union of the Medical Association), told Haaretz that a patient connected to such a machine has a 50 percent chance of surviving.

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...ases-1.9429749