Defense Minister Benny Gantz instructed the IDF to prepare to operate coronavirus hotels through 2021.

“The working premise should be active until the end of 2021,” Gantz said during a Zoom conference with the IDF commanders running the hotels. “All the work next year will also revolve around the coronavirus crisis. It’s hard for me to see it ending before then, unfortunately.”

Head of the Home Front Command Maj.-Gen. Uri Gordon said during the conference that the unit’s greatest difficulty is convincing patients to come to the hotels. Currently, about 400 Israelis check in to the various hotels on a daily bais.

The Home Front Command opened new hotels in recent days and there are now 20 hotels, 15 for coronavirus patients with light symptoms and five hotels for those who need to quarantine but lack proper conditions to do so.

There are currently a total of 4,301 hotel rooms (quarantine hotels house one person per room but coronavirus hotels have shared rooms). Eleven hotels are in Jerusalem, six are in the north and three are in the south. The Home Front Command also signed eight additional contracts with hotels – a total of 960 rooms – which are prepared to take in coronavirus patients on short notice if needed.

Eleven of the 20 hotels are designated for the Chareidi population, which has a high number of large families in small apartments and are in greater need of the hotels for quarantine.

The Home Front Command rented 170 buses to transport patients and those in need of quarantine to the hotels.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)