Israeli Health Minister and wife diagnosed with coronavirus
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Israeli Health minister Ya’acov Litzman and his wife have been diagnosed with the coronavirus and will go into home-quarantine, according to a spokesperson for the Health Ministry.
“The health minister is feeling well,” a statement by the Health Ministry informed the public on Thursday.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been informed of the situation. Litzman will continue to serve in his role from home, in accordance with medical recommendations.
An epidemiological investigation is being carried out, and messages will be sent to those who came into contact with Litzman and are required to enter isolation. It is expected that the head of the National Security Council Meir Ben-Shabbat and Health Ministry director-general Moshe Bar Siman Tov, as well as several other senior officials, will be asked to home-quarantine.
As of Wednesday at press time, 6,092 Israelis were diagnosed with coronavirus and 26 people had succumbed to the disease. Of those infected, 95 are in serious conditions, with 81 of them intubated and 663 people are hospitalized.
Moreover, the number of medical staff currently in quarantine went down from 3,498 to 3,201, including 701 doctors and 1,138 nurses. The ministry announced that it gave licenses to practice to 900 new nurses through an accelerated procedure to help fill a much-needed void.
