Israel Records 47 Deaths, More than 8,000 Covid-19 Cases

Israel recorded its 47th coronavirus (Covid-19) death on Sunday and saw a total of 8,018 confirmed Covid-19 cases, 127 of them in severe condition, according to local health authorities.

Also on Sunday, Ynet News reported that the Israeli government is expected to place additional areas under full lockdown. So far, Israeli authorities have increased enforcement of social distancing at a number of dominantly ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) communities, including the Tel Aviv suburb of Bnei Brak and religious neighborhoods in Jerusalem. The ultra-Orthodox community has been disproportionately impacted by the coronavirus, likely due to a refusal by many of its members to adhere to government regulation.

On Sunday afternoon, the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov Hospital), in collaboration with Israel's emergency service Magen David Adom (MADA) and the city of Tel Aviv, has set up a Covid-19 testing facility in south Tel Aviv. The facility is designated to cater to the large population of asylum seekers and foreign workers residing in the area, which has been under-served since the outbreak of the pandemic. The facility is set to operate daily from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and provide free tests to anyone exhibiting symptoms such as fever, coughing, and diarrhea.  

After the Israeli Health Ministry announced a country-wide increase in the number of Covid-19 tests early last week, on Saturday, Ynet News reported that the ministry has defined stricter criteria for test eligibility. Now, only those who report high temperatures and respiratory symptoms who have also recently been abroad—or have been in contact with someone who has been abroad—will be eligible to get tested. The ministry cited a shortage of reagent, a component of the tests as cause for the change.

The tests will also be offered to those who came in close contact with a confirmed case, those who are asymptomatic but have returned from countries where the virus is rampant, and those considered high-risk due to advanced age, background diseases, or existing medical conditions.