An 11-year-old girl with no pre-existing medical issues was hospitalized in serious condition in the pediatric ICU at Kaplan Hospital in Rechovot after contracting the coronavirus.

She arrived at the hospital on Motzei Shabbos with severe respiratory difficulties.

“At around three in the morning, I heard a scream: ‘Abba, I’m suffocating!’ her father Roi told Channel 12 News. “Her oxygen level was only 78, very low.”

“We immediately called an ambulance which took her to Kaplan. There they told us that she’s suffering from pneumonia resulting from the virus.”

“Her condition was really not good but this morning her condition improved and we’re hoping for the best. Whoever claims that children don’t get seriously ill with the coronavirus, I say – look at the situation my child reached, she couldn’t breathe without help, even for a short time.”

There are currently 48 children hospitalized with the coronavirus in Israel, with nine in serious condition and six in critical condition, with eight children hospitalized in the past two days alone.

There are eight children hospitalized in Hadassah Ein Kerem in Jerusalem, five in Mayanei HaYeshua Hospital in Bnei Brak, five in Kaplan Medical Center in Rechovot, and three infants hospitalized in Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon. The remaining children are hospitalized in various other hospitals throughout Israel.

The number of coronavirus cases in children has risen sharply due to the British variant. In November 2020, there were 400 coronavirus cases in children under the age of two. By February 2021, there were 5,800 cases in children under two.

“There’s no doubt that the British variant of COVID-19 is ‘partial’ to children and the infection rate among them is higher than we’ve seen with earlier variants,” said Prof. Eli Somekh, head of pediatrics at the Mayanei Hayeshua Hospital in Bnei Brak.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)