There are 19,237 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Israel as of Tuesday, an increase of 182 new cases in the last 24 hours.

The number of active cases has risen to 3,520, with 35 patients in serious condition, of whom 25 are ventilated. Now new fatalities were recorded, leaving the death toll at 302.

Eleven hospital employees at Ichiliv Hospital in Tel Aviv, including doctors and nurses, tested positive for the coronavirus in the past few days, Yediot Achronot reported on Tuesday. The hospital employees were not all from one department but worked on various wards in the hospital.

News reports said that medical staff was lax with wearing masks and maintaining social distancing rules at social gatherings of the staff. Following a farewell party for an intern, attended by over 20 staff members, one of the doctors that participated discovered that his wife and daughter had tested positive for the virus. He was tested and found to be positive, forcing all the staff present at the party to enter quarantine.

A total of 690 medical professionals in Israel have been diagnosed with the coronavirus in recent weeks and are currently in quarantine, including 97 doctors and 210 nurses.

Ten cases of the coronavirus have been diagnosed at the upscale Medical Palace nursing home adjacent to Ichilov, five residents and five staff members, the Health Ministry reported on Monday.

All residents and staff members were tested after a nurse at the facility was diagnosed with the virus. Two residents were transferred to the nearby Ichilov Hospital and one resident passed away.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)