A total of 24 residents of the Ateret Avot nursing home in Bnei Brak were diagnosed with the coronavirus on Sunday.

The coronavirus has been sweeping like wildfire in nursing homes throughout Israel and 34 of Israel’s fatalities from the coronavirus were residents of nursing homes.

The 12th coronavirus patient from the Yokra assisted living facility in Yavne’el in northern Israel passed away overnight Sunday. A Be’er Sheva nursing home has recorded 13 deaths out of its 35 residents, the Migdal Nofim nursing has suffered 4 fatalities and a nursing home in Rishon L’Tzion suffered three fatalities.

Unfortunately, the shortage of the chemicals required for coronavirus tests in Israel has led to the government’s reluctance to carry out testing for all residents and staff at nursing homes as a blanket policy.

Nursing home managers have complained that despite pressuring the Health Ministry to test all their residents after one or more resident was diagnosed with the virus, the ministry consistently delayed the testing, and at times it took a week or more until the residents and staff were tested.

In addition to the issues surrounding testing for the coronavirus, Ron Ozeri, the chairman of the Association of Nursing Homes and Sheltered Housing in Israel, has been warning the government for over a month that nursing homes and other facilities for high-risk populations are not adequately prepared to manage the care of their residents in the face of a pandemic, a Times of Israel report said.

When the association’s requests to the Health Ministry for protective equipment and clothing for nursing homes as well as efficient safety directives failed to receive a proper response, the association, together with the directors of 23 nursing home facilities, filed a petition to the Supreme Court last Tuesday demanding that the government test all residents and staff of their facilities for the coronavirus even in the absence of symptoms.

Following the Supreme Court’s response that the government must respond to the petition by Monday as well as an uproar in the Israeli press, bitter complaints from family members of nursing home residents and the report that relatives of residents of the Mishan nursing home in Be’er Sheva are filing a lawsuit against the nursing home directors for alleged medical neglect, the Health Ministry appointed Prof. Ronni Gamzu, the Director-General of Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv and former Director-General of the Health Ministry to oversee coronavirus management in nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

“Israel is dealing with this pandemic better than many developed countries, including in senior facilities,” Gamzu said after his appointment. “The immediate challenge is to preserve the health of our parents, the builders of the country. After helping Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv to successfully deal with coronavirus infections, I have accepted the challenge to lead the national effort in this area. I understand quite well the challenges and difficulties in situations involving geriatric patients and staff, and with the cooperation of all offices and ministries, we will be able to bring about immediate positive results and save lives.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)