Following the publication of the 53 uncounted deaths, the Ministry of Health updated the data • Eight patients have died since midnight • In the last day 1,644 new verified persons were discovered

• Drive in Corona in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Jerusalem

  Photo: 

  Oren Ben Hakon

In the shadow of the failure to count the dead, tonight (Wednesday) the Ministry of Health published data on the spread of the corona virus in Israel, according to which there are 23,918 active patients in the corona in Israel. Today 1,111 new carriers were identified in 19,408 midnight tests, while last night 1,640 carriers were identified in 27,123 new tests.

Hadassah CEO in the Knesset: "Failing to provide service to Corona patients and other patients" // Photo: Knesset Channel Spokeswoman

The situation in the country's hospitals: the number of patients is 793, of whom 118 are respirated, 398 are in critical condition, 164 are in moderate condition. The death toll from the plague is 711. The death toll from the disease in Israel stands at 781 people, with 8 people dying at midnight. At this rate by the end of the month the threshold of 800 will be dead and perhaps even more tragic.

The number of patients hospitalized is 793 people, of whom 398 are in critical condition and 118 are respirated. In addition there are 164 patients in moderate condition. At the top of the list of red cities in Israel is still Jerusalem, followed by Bnei Brak, Modi'in Illit, Rahat, Kfar Qassem, Tira, Ilut, Ma'ale Iron, Gadida Makr, Beit Jann, Kfar Bara, Harish, Dalit al-Carmel, Ein Kenia, Ba'ana, Restaurant, Sheikh Danon, Anzeir, Kfar Tavor, and Lapid.

Data default: 53 deaths were not counted

The Ministry of Health announced this morning that in July-August there were no 53 deaths from Corona, elderly people from the "Protecting Fathers and Mothers" project. Possible reason for the failure: So far the geriatric institutions, including private institutions, have reported separately to the Corona Squadron, from where the information has been transferred to the computerized system. The Ministry of Health will investigate whether there are other cases not added to the official death toll.

Health Minister Yuli (Joel) Edelstein takes the matter very seriously. The Minister instructed to carry out an in-depth examination and present the recommendations within a week, including personal recommendations if necessary. "The Minister of Health intends to act transparently and inform the public of the results of the test and its conclusions," Edelstein said on his behalf.

At the same time, the Director General of the Ministry of Health, Prof. Hezi Levy, ordered that the reports of deaths from Corona be consolidated into a uniform source of reporting for all medical institutions, including geriatric institutions that will be reflected in the Ministry of Health's computerized system. 

Fear of outbreak at Laniado Hospital

Meanwhile, there was a fear of a corona outbreak at Laniado Hospital after more than 20 patients in the Saudi ward contracted the virus out of 30 inpatients. Most of them did not develop symptoms and the hospital is trying to find out who infected them.

Professor Zvi Shimoni, the hospital's medical director, said this morning: "One of the patients in the ward went to the emergency room and the examination revealed that he was positive for Corona. So we tested everyone and found that over 20 were carriers. Some of the ward staff were also found to be positive for the virus but also did not develop symptoms. Staff members went into isolation.