Israel Ready to Help India, Uruguay

YERUSHALAYIM

Carrasco International Airport, Montevideo, Uruguay. (Sebastian Lopassio)

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu‏‏ said on Tuesday that Israel stands ready to send assistance to India in its coronavirus crisis.

“I have instructed the head of the National Security Council to render such assistance as may be requested. I hope that there will be an international effort, in which Israel is ready to be a full partner, to stop this tragedy. Even as we rejoice here, we still understand that large sections of humanity are suffering greatly. In any case, we are ready to help with whatever may be necessary,” Netanyahu said at Tuesday’s cabinet meeting, before it erupted over the appointment of a justice minister.

Meanwhile, a delegation from Israel’s Sheba Medical Center was scheduled to land in Uruguay on Tuesday, where the covid infection rate has soared to the second highest in the world.

The four-person team’s weeklong mission will focus on helping hospitals struggling to cope with the overwhelming demand for beds and treatment, including the establishment of new coronavirus facilities, according to The Times of Israel.

For most of 2020, Uruguay, which has a population of just 3.5 million, had very low virus numbers. It ended the year with just 181 COVID deaths, but has now seen 2,391, and aside from Cyprus, which just had a sudden spike, has the highest per capita incidence of new cases.

“As cases rise in Uruguay, we’re here to give whatever help, advice and information proves useful in fighting the crisis,” Moriya Suliman, a nurse from Sheba, said. “We’re excited to help.”

The delegation includes senior doctor Rony Ashkenazi and Sheba’s logistics coordinator Shai Swissa, who was tasked with locating spare areas at the hospital, including parking lots, and converting them into coronavirus wards.

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