Israel

Health Ministry: 324 Cases of Coronavirus in Israel

Tuesday, March 17, 2020 4:17 am | < 1 Minute Read

By Yoni Weiss

A police officer helps a Health Ministry inspector put on protective gear before they go up to the apartment of a person in self quarantine as a precaution against coronavirus spread in Hadera, Monday. (Reuters/Ronen Zvulun)

The Health Ministry said Tuesday afternoon that the number of coronavirus cases in Israel has risen, and there are now 324 confirmed cases in the country.

Five of those hospitalized are listed in serious condition, with nine in moderate condition. 11 patients have recovered and were subsequently released from hospital.

Later Tuesday, the “Corona Hotel” project, spearheaded by Defense Minister Naftali Bennett, is set to launch.

The project sees the use of hotels – empty due to the lack of tourists – as recovery centers for corona patients in light condition.

The hotels chosen for the project are the Dan Panorama in Tel Aviv and the Dan Hotel in Yerushalayim. Other hotels will be designated for the purpose in the future.

On Monday night, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu‏‏ said that currently there will be no national lockdown in the struggle to contain the coronavirus, but warned that some localities could be isolated.

“We aren’t locking people in their homes. We aren’t announcing a full lockdown — and I hope we won’t get to it,” said the prime minister, but that “we will impose local lockdowns in places where there is an outbreak.”