Sheba Starts to Close Down Coronavirus Wards Due to Falling Infection Rates
2 min read
In recent news, the Sheba Medical Center has announced that it is slowly and steadily closing down its coronavirus emergency wards, as well as the coronavirus rooms designated for children. This has been made possible due to the falling infection rates across the State of Israel.
After an entire year of fighting the outbreak, the hospital has started to dismantle the emergency room, which it built specifically to admit patients who contracted the novel coronavirus.
The coronavirus rooms at the Safra Children Hospital were also shut down on Thursday.
As of now, Sheba is operating only half of a coronavirus ward, which is being managed by Dr. Gadi Segal. He treated some of the first patients of the disease in Israel. A coronavirus intensive care unit is also operational at the medical center, which is run by Dr. Yael Habib-Yadid.
Segal gave a statement regarding the dismantling of the coronavirus wards, expressing his joy. He recalled how he and his team dealt with the virus more than a year ago when not much was known about it. He added how excited and happy he was to witness a fall in morbidity and the decrease in the need for hospitalization in rooms designated for the coronavirus in particular.
The doctor went on to say how desperately the country had been waiting for more than a year to celebrate defeating the virus. However, he warned, that the country has yet to find safety at the shore. He stressed the importance of the vaccination of the entire population to get rid of the infection, once and for all.
Back in February of last year, the first patients who contracted the disease in the State of Israel were quarantined at the Sheba Medical Center. They had just returned from a cruise at the ship by the name The Diamond Princess. At the time, as well as later on, the hospital played an important role in providing training to other hospitals and their medical staff for dealing with patients of the coronavirus. They also aided other relevant facilities in preparing wards to care for people whose health deteriorated due to the disease.
On the evening of Thursday, around 4,459 citizens of Israel tested positive for the coronavirus. 152 patients needed to be placed on a ventilator, whereas 280 were in a serious condition. This is the first time that the number of patients requiring critical care went below 300, in light of the last four months. The death toll currently stands at 6,279.
In addition, 274 new people were diagnosed with the disease and only 0.5% of the tests returned positive. The R, or reproduction rate, which represents how many people will be infected on average by a person who contracts the coronavirus, came down to 0.76.
Due to the falling coronavirus cases, the IDF has also announced that its soldiers will be given permission to participate in the memorial services of their fellows who passed away. These services will take place on Remembrance Day.
