Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Health Minister Yuli Edelstein visited the Soroka Hospital in Be’er Sheva on Tuesday and spoke to the public following their tour.

Responding to the media reports that Israel’s hospitals are quickly overfilling with coronavirus patients, with four hospitals already operating at over 100% capacity in their coronavirus wards, Netanyahu said that the hospitals are managing at the moment, pointing to the empty beds behind him.

However, the prime minister added that it’s a matter of manpower that could bring the health system to a point of not being able to accept more patients.

Edelstein said that there are dozens of seriously ill patients hospitalized at Soroka, some of whom are ventilated, and emphasized that a large percentage of seriously ill patients are not elderly or those with underlying illnesses.

“The message from the medical staff here who work around the clock to all Israeli citizens is that everyone should act with great caution,” Edelstein said. “The simplest things, like wearing masks and social distancing can prevent people from contracting the coronavirus.”

Edelstein added that one solution to the manpower crisis is possibly hiring additional staff to carry out administrative duties that can be performed by non-medical-trained employees.

Soroka Hospital, located in Israel’s south, is currently operating at only 60% capacity in its coronavirus wards, according to the Health Ministry. There are 91 medical staffers at the hospital currently in quarantine.

There are currently 760 coronavirus patients hospitalized in Israel, of whom 321 are in serious condition with 97 on ventilators.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)