Israeli Health Ministry reports a 6.6 percent drop in the number of patients in critical condition over the past 24 hours • Number of confirmed cases rises to 13,362, the majority of which have displayed only mild symptoms.
BY MAYTAL YASUR BEIT-OR
(April 19, 2020 / Israel Hayom) Israel’s Health Ministry reported on Sunday morning that the country’s coronavirus death toll now stands at 172 people, with 13,362 confirmed cases since the beginning of the outbreak.
As of 9 a.m. Sunday, 156 people were in critical condition, according to the ministry, marking a 6.6 percent drop in 24 hours. Additionally, 109 patients were on ventilators, a 7.6 percent decline from the previous day’s figures. The number of patients listed as being in moderate condition was 150, while 9,378 were listed as being in mild condition.
The ministry also presented figures on the morbidity rates per town in Israel. Bnei Brak, with 2,307 confirmed cases, tops the list, followed by the Arab village of Deir el-Asad with 89 confirmed cases out of just 12,435 residents and then Kohav Ya’akov in Judea and Samaria, with 59 confirmed cases out of just 8,602 residents.
Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center in Jerusalem said in a statement on Sunday that two female coronavirus patients died overnight Saturday, including the youngest patient to date to succumb to the virus in Israel, a 29-year-old woman who was already suffering from terminal cancer.Subscribe to The JNS Daily Syndicate by email and never miss our top stories
The medical staff was in continuous contact with her relatives, who were prohibited from visiting the hospital to bid her farewell. After her passing, her family members said the Kaddish prayer—traditionally recited in memory of the dead—via a video call facilitated by the medical staff.
The other fatality was a 76-year-old woman with a complicated medical history who had been hospitalized in intensive care for the past two weeks.
Also Sunday, an 85-year-old woman with a preexisting medical history died at Poriya Medical Center near Tiberias, becoming the 18th fatality from the “Yokra” nursing home in Yavniel.
Laniado Hospital in Netanya reported Sunday morning that a 96-year-old corona patient passed away overnight Saturday. The hospitals’ separated coronavirus wing is currently treating 30 patients—eight in critical condition, among them seven on ventilators, four patients in moderate condition and 18 in mild condition.
More than 2.31 million people have been reported to be infected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus globally and 158,384 have died of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, according to a Reuters tally. Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.
This article first appeared in Israel Hayom.