535 corona deaths in Israel in September

Thirty Israelis are believed to have died from COVID-19 between Friday morning and Saturday evening, the health ministry showed, as the fourth wave continues to sweep across the country, hitting young, unvaccinated citizens hard. Nonetheless, the coronavirus cabinet is unlikely to meet until Wednesday.

There were 7,641 people who died from the virus on Saturday night and 7,611 on Friday morning. A total of 535 people have died since early September – twice as many as in the four months from April to July, when only 266 people died from the virus.

Some 627 people died in August. Last September, 651 people died. The month with the highest number of deaths was January 2021, when 1,444 Israelis died of COVID-19.

Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, who have been advising the government since the start of the pandemic, shared a report on Friday that they presented to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, in which they predict a continued decline in the rate of infection.

They also predicted that the number of severe cases would decline, but that it would be another week or two before that drop was felt in hospitals across the country. They said that since severe cases tend to be younger and unvaccinated people, they are hospitalized for longer periods of time and therefore clutter up intensive care units across the country.

There were 694 people in serious condition on Saturday night, including 221 ventilated – the highest number since March.

As of Friday, there were 41 COVID-19 patients connected to heart-lung ECMO machines, the majority of whom were unvaccinated, according to the Department of Health. No one has been vaccinated with a third coronavirus vaccine connected to an ECMO machine.

Two of these young people were unvaccinated pregnant young women, aged 20 and 27, hospitalized at Hadassah University Medical Center in Ein Kerem, in serious and critical condition.

Due to the severity of their condition, they were forced to give birth early, at week 28 and week 27 respectively.

The 20-year-old is intubated in critical condition and the 27-year-old is in serious condition and is receiving respiratory assistance. The two babies, born so long before their due date, are being treated in the hospital’s premature neonatal intensive care unit.

“The next few weeks will be critical,” said a spokesperson for the hospital. The Jerusalem post.

Members of the Shaare Zedek Hospital team wearing safety gear as they work in the coronavirus ward at Shaare Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem on August 23, 2021. (YONATAN SINDEL / FLASH90)

Also in Hadassah, two young children aged six months and two were in serious condition with the virus on Friday. Both suffer from serious underlying health issues.

Some 4,932 new cases were diagnosed on Friday, the health ministry said on Saturday evening. The positivity rate on Saturday had fallen to 4.30%, out of about 121,000 tests administered – according to the Hebrew University forecast.

The National COVID-19 Expert Committee warned the government last week that its policy of relying on a third recall and minimal economic restrictions was not working. They also said Israel, like other countries, would likely face the tragic dilemma of prioritizing young patients in need of intensive care for coronavirus or other illnesses over elderly patients and called for a policy change.

Nonetheless, the coronavirus cabinet is not expected to meet until at least Wednesday, when Prime Minister Naftali Bennett returns from his visit to New York for the United Nations General Assembly. The majority of cabinet ministers are reportedly against adding new restrictions, mainly because the Green Pass policy is already being adjusted next week, October 3, and they want to see if that will have an impact.

Hebrew University researchers said returning to routine in October after the holidays could lead to an increase in infections. But, like ministers, they expressed some optimism that when the Green Pass is adjusted to include only those who are fully vaccinated or recovered (within the past six months or with a booster), the country could and should see the significant reduction in infection that it expects.