The number of Israeli coronavirus fatalities rose to five on Wednesday, according to Israel’s Health Ministry, and 2,030 Israelis have so far been diagnosed with the COVID-19 virus. The two latest fatalities were announced on Wednesday morning. It remains unclear if the victims had underlying medical conditions.
Malka Keva, 67, of Bat Yam, succumbed to COVID-19 on Tuesday afternoon. Another man, 87, died of the disease several hours later at Jerusalem’s Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center. Both suffered from several serious pre-existing conditions, according to the Health Ministry. The country’s first COVID-19 fatality, 88-year-old Jerusalem resident and Holocaust survivor Aryeh Even, died over the weekend at Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center.
According to Hebrew media reports, Even and the unnamed 87-year-old victim lived in the same Jerusalem nursing home, where several other residents have contracted the disease.
Also on Wednesday morning, the Israeli government approved via a telephone vote new, more severe restrictions on the public as part of the country’s effort to curb the outbreak.
According to the ministry, 37 of those diagnosed with COVID-19 are in serious condition, 54 are in moderate condition, and the rest are experiencing only mild symptoms. Fifty-eight Israelis have recovered.
More than 65,000 Israelis are currently under home quarantine.
This article first appeared in Israel Hayom.