The number of coronavirus cases in Israel been skyrocketing but the virus itself has also become more severe, with an increased number of seriously ill patients in their 30s and 40s, said Dr. Michael Halbertal, Director of the Rambam Health Care Campus in an interview with Yediot Achranot.

During the interview, which focused on the heavy caseload Israel’s hospital are now facing, Dr. Halbertal said: “We’ve admitted close to 707 patients from throughout the north in the past two-three weeks. We currently have 21 patients, two of them in serious condition.”

“We’re seeing that the seriously ill patients are younger than in the previous wave; they’re in their 30s-40s and not in their 60s-70s as we saw earlier.”

Other doctors in Israel are seeing this phenomenon as well. One senior doctor told B’Chadrei Chareidim: “What characterizes this wave is that the virus is more unpredictable and quick-acting. Patients who arrive in relatively good condition deteriorate quickly, to the point of not being able to breathe on their own within a few hours.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)