Health Ministry error pushes up Israel's Covid-19 death toll

Coronavirus ventilation ward / Photo: Reuven Castro, Walla! News
Coronavirus ventilation ward / Photo: Reuven Castro, Walla! News

53 fatalities from the virus in July and August in nursing homes and other facilities for the elderly were not included in Health Ministry figures.

Israel's Ministry of Health has revised upwards the number of fatalities from Covid-19 in July and August by 53. The discrepancy results from patients treated outside of hospitals in nursing home and senior citizens home settings. The Ministry of Health said that it was making further thorough checks to ensure that no other Covid-19 deaths in Israel have gone unreported to the Ministry of Health. Nursing homes and other facilities for the elderly report fatalities individually to the Ministry of Health and this is where the error occurred in July and August.

Sources familiar with the subject say that there may have been other fatalities of patients who died in the community outside of nursing home and hospital settings.

Minister of Health Yuli Edelstein views the matter gravely and is eager for transparency and he will reportedly brief the public on the matter after the situation has been investigated.

Ministry of Health director general Prof. Hezi Levi has instructed that a more unified system of reporting of fatalities is introduced that encompasses all settings.

According to the Ministry of Health there have been 719 fatalities during the Covid-19 pandemic, not including these latest uncounted 53 fatalities.

Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on August 19, 2020 © Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2020

Coronavirus ventilation ward / Photo: Reuven Castro, Walla! News
Coronavirus ventilation ward / Photo: Reuven Castro, Walla! News
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