COVID-19 is not necessarily a death sentence for the elderly. That much was proved Sarah Itzinger, a 99-year-old Holocaust survivor who has fully recovered in hospital after she contracted the virus. Itzinger, whose husband recently died from the virus, was released from Shaare Tzedek hospital on Sunday after being hospitalized in the Corona-ward for the past month.

“I want to thank everyone for what they did for me. I just want to go home,” she told reporters upon her release.

Itzinger, moved to the United States following the Second World War, where she met her husband, also a Holocaust survivor, Tzvi Herschel. They had a daughter who made aliyah to Israel and had 13 children. The couple made aliyah to Israel just last year in order to be with their grandchildren and great-grandchildren. They lived in the senior’s residence Maon Horim in Yerushalayim, and contracted the virus there.

Their grandson, Nissan Hefetz, who was put in charge of the Corona checks in Yerushalayim for Magen David Adom, said: “Once my grandfather told me what his symptoms were, I knew he had contracted the virus.” Hefetz arranged to transport his grandfather to the hospital where it was confirmed that he had contracted the virus. He then arranged a test for his grandmother. Tzvi passed away shortly thereafter, however, Sarah fought the virus for the past few weeks until she made a full recovery.

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“It was really difficult for my grandmother after my grandfather passed away,” Hefetz said during an interview with Ynet. “She is a strong woman. No matter what hardships befall her she knows how to handle things and always worries about us.”

Hefetz accompanied his grandmother home where the rest of the family is planning to celebrate her 99th birthday.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)