Israel’s Ministry of Health has released a dire prediction that 25% of the country will take ill with swine flu this winter.
According to “health experts” quoted by the daily Yisrael HaYom, an expected 2 million Israelis will contract the illness, and 10,000 may die due to severe cases, while hundreds of thousands may require hospitalization.
Dr. Itamar Gruto, who heads the ministry’s public health services, has confirmed the 25% figure, but he will not comment on the ominous prediction of 10,000 deaths. Gruto states it is too early to address mortality rates, adding the global medical community points at chronically ill, the elderly and pregnant women being in the highest risk categories.
Today, four people remain in intensive care units as a result of the illness, with a Swedish tourist, 21, showing significant signs of improvement.
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)
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One Response
And how many would normally die. Assuming about 1.5% of a population dies annually (I’m excluding immortals, however normal humans tend to die eventually), and Israel has roughly six million people, then 90000 Israeli will die next year. Most people who die are ill before they die. So it that 10000 Israelis additionally will die, or that 10000 people who would normally have died of diseases such as regular flu, infections, cancer, etc., will die of “swine flu” instead.
But then again, any bureaucrat knows how to play with numbers when its time to justify an appropriation, and panic leads to appropriations.