Israel’s Defense Minister Naftali Bennett instructed the defense establishment on Friday to immediately set up three group recovery facilities for individuals diagnosed with the novel coronavirus. The decision was made following consultations with the Prime Minister, Health Ministry and will the defense ministry immediately locate, prepare and equip three facilities opened across the north, south and central part of the country. The group facilities will allow the health ministry to increase their ability to handle the growth of Israelis diagnosed with the virus, especially patients who are mildly ill with no need to be transferred to hospitals. “The problem is that we don’t know how many people are carrying the virus and it could be another 150 or 500 or 1000 diagnosed,” Bennett said. “We want to be prepared for the next step..we don’t want to get to the point that the health ministry can’t deal with the amount of patients like Italy.” The facilities- which will open by next week-will be an alternative to home isolation, where many of the Israelis diagnosed with the virus are currently being treated. “Home quarantine is not enough,” Bennett told reporters. “Those diagnosed with the virus have to be isolated for at least five weeks before they aren’t contagious. Those who are sick and staying at home can transmit the virus to family members, who can then go out and infect others.” The defense ministry said that the purpose of the facilities will be to concentrate all those carrying the virus into one location to “enable effective quarantine, prevent the risk of infection to family members and provide immediate medical response to patients” in case their conditions worsen. According to Bennett, the facilities, either hotels or empty boarding schools, will be able to hold 1,000 patients with the capacity to hold 3,000 people. Also on Friday, the IDF announced that it would be suspending all training for reservists until after the Passover holiday in mid-April due to the ongoing concern regarding the novel coronavirus. In a statement provided to The Jerusalem Post, the decision was made following a situational assessment led by the head of the ground forces and all relevant division commanders and senior officers. “This decision was carefully considered and made with the desire to preserve the IDF’s readiness, while maintaining the commitment between the IDF and its personnel in supporting their families at the present time,” the military said, adding that efforts will be made to carry out the training later this year. On Friday the ministry of health announced that the number of coronavirus patients in Israel has risen to 126, with two in serious condition. Tens of thousands of other Israelis are in self-quarantine, including 2,584 soldiers. Three soldiers have been diagnosed with the virus. Israel and it’s military has taken stringent measures to curb the spread of the virus, cancelling public events of more than 100 people like sporting or cultural events as well as closing schools and universities. While civilian family members will not be allowed to attend military events such as graduation ceremonies, the military will work to put in place other options to watch such as live streaming on Facebook. The IDF said that while the virus has not yet caused a major disruption to the IDF’s activities, there are concerns that it may in the future. The IDF has ordered that no soldier be allowed to travel abroad and those currently abroad will not be able to return to duty for two weeks. The military is also preparing for if they are called up to take part in national measures should the virus become a full-blown national crisis, including using military bases as field hospitals as well as assisting the police to enforce quarantines on cities and towns.
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