Follow
Dec. 16, 2020
Senior officials in the Gaza Strip’s health care system warned Tuesday that the system was at risk of collapse due to the sharp rise in the number of coronavirus patients in serious condition and on ventilators. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, since Monday the number of seriously ill or ventilated patients has gone up by 40 and now stands at 226.
According to Gaza health sources, the hospitals and wards treating coronavirus patients are at 90 percent capacity. The two hospitals that were designated to deal with COVID-19 patients in Khan Yunis and Gaza City are full, and patients are now being sent to other facilities.
10:18 A.M. Most Israelis who died of COVID-19 suffered from diabetes, high blood pressure
An analysis of the Health Ministry data regarding coronavirus mortality in Israel shows that those who died of COVID-19 suffered mostly from high blood pressure, diabetes and cardiovascular problems.
The data showed, the most common profile of those who died of COVID-19 was a combination of age and a chronic condition common to people aged 65 or older. The average age of those who died was 79, while the median age was 81.
According to the Health Ministry data, 34 percent of those who died (1,019 people) had high blood pressure. In 25 percent of the deaths (750), the primary underlying illness was diabetes. Twenty-one percent (246) had a cardiovascular disease, eight percent (99 people) had a chronic lung disease, three percent reported a suppressed immune system (which could be the result of having had a transplant or being treated for cancer) and one percent (31 people) reported a chronic
The imposition of a full lockdown over the weekend has set off a wave of demonstrations across the West Bank since Thursday, including clashes between Palestinian security forces and protesters, a somewhat unusual occurrence.
On Friday, at a demonstration in Hebron, city residents fired guns into the air and security personnel used tear gas to disperse the demonstrators, which included members of the al-Jabari family, one of the city s most powerful and largest.
Additional clashes also broke out during demonstrations in the Beit Omer area near Hebron, and in the Balata refugee camp in Nablus. Credit: Jack Khoury
A senior security official told Haaretz that some of the families in the West Bank are trying to take advantage of the coronavirus crisis to mount a challenge to security forces, but that security forces would not allow this to pass.