Galil Hospital Closes Covid Ward as Pandemic Ebbs

In another sign that the pandemic is ending in Israel, a hospital in the north closed its coronavirus wards, The Times of Israel reported on Tuesday.

The Galil Medical Center, in Nahariya, treated some 453 coronavirus patients in the fourth wave which started in August. It saw 64 virus deaths.

“We definitely feel a sense of relief,” said Dr. Larissa Jacobson, head of COVID care at the hospital.

Hospital director Prof. Masad Barhoum said: “The fourth wave was characterized by young people who were not vaccinated and who found themselves in serious condition, both Jewish and Arab. Many of the people hospitalized with us were relatively young, around 40 to 60, and most of them were not vaccinated.”

Adding the usual note of caution, he said: “Although there is cause for optimism, the coronavirus is still here so it is very important that residents in the Galil and in the country as a whole continue to wear masks indoors and maintain distance and hygiene, both of which give protection.”

The number of Covid patients in Israeli hospitals fell to 223 on Tuesday; 161 people in serious condition.

Only 564 new infections were recorded in Israel on Monday.