Israel announces state of emergency in all hospitals

Tel Aviv, Sep 22 The Israeli Health Ministry has declared a state of emergency in all hospitals after the recent abnormal rise in Covid-19 morbidity and overcrowding of the wards.

In a letter to hospital chiefs sent on Monday, Hezi Levi, Director-General of the Ministry, warned that the Israeli health system is expected to hit capacity limit within weeks or even days, reports Xinhua news agency.

Within 10 days there will be additional 200 to 300 Covid-19 patients in serious condition, including ventilated ones, Levi noted.

On Monday, the number of Covid-19 patients in serious condition in Israel reached a record 651, out of 1,348 patients currently hospitalized.

"As in emergency, I expect hospital managements to take part in the national effort to deal with the expected morbidity load," Levi wrote in the letter.

He also announced the setting up of a national operation headquarters, which will operate around the clock, supervise all hospitals' Covid-19 activity and provide solutions to problems arising in the hospitals.

As of Tuesday, the overall number of coronavirus cases in Israel has increased to more than 191,000 with 1,273 deaths.

( With inputs from IANS )