There are 20,686 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Israel as of Sunday morning, an increase of 53 new cases since midnight on Motzei Shabbos.

The number of active cases has risen to 4,716, with 43 patients in serious condition, of whom 28 are ventilated. The death toll has risen to 305.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu‏‏ said at the beginning of Sunday’s cabinet meeting: “If we don’t immediately make a significant change in our behavior by wearing masks and maintaining social distancing we’ll bring back the closures.”

The Health Ministry ordered all hospitals throughout Israel on Sunday to prepare for the immediate reopening of their coronavirus departments due to the increasingly growing uptick of cases in recent weeks. The hospitals were told to prepare for an “extreme scenario” and to refresh staff on proper protocol for treating coronavirus patients.

Several hospitals had already closed their coronavirus wards last month due to a lack of patients prior to the current uptick in cases.

The Knesset Coronavirus Committee is convening on Sunday afternoon to discuss steps that can be implemented to stem the increase in coronavirus cases.

A Channel 12 News report on Sunday said that five additional medical professionals were diagnosed with the coronavirus at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv. A hospital source quoted in the report said that “it’s an explosion and they’re trying to cover it up,” claiming that the hospital is not sending medical staffers who have diagnosed with the virus and those in contact with them into quarantine and that “no one is wearing masks.”

A statement by the hospital claims that the medical staffers diagnosed with the virus were sent into quarantine.

There are currently a total of 905 medical professionals in quarantine, including 168 doctors and 306 nurses.

An outbreak of the coronavirus has occurred in the Golden Age nursing home in the Katamon neighborhood of Jerusalem. Sixteen residents and staff members have been diagnosed with the coronavirus and 12 residents have been hospitalized.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)