Israel's coronavirus death toll reaches 606, close to 400 people in serious condition

Of the nearly 24,000 patients battling COVID, 118 are on ventilators; doctors launch labor dispute demanding further staffing for the overwhelmed public health system to be financed by the state

Adir Yanko|

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 The Health Ministry said on Monday morning that Israel's death toll from COVID-19 has risen to 606.
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Of the 23,998 people battling the virus, 397 are in serious condition and being treated in hospitals, including 118 people on ventilators.
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The coronavirus ward at the Sheba Medical Center in central Israel 
(Photo: AFP)
The Israel Medical Association on Sunday announced a labor dispute, warning that the doctors would soon go on strike unless the government increase staffing for hospitals already strained before the pandemic. 
Some major medical centers have now exceeded their capacity to treat patients, including Israel's largest hospital in Tel Hashomer.
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Health Minister Yuli Edelstein meeting with medical staff at Wolfson Hospital in Holon 
(Photo: GPO)
Health Minister Yuli Edelstein has said that he supported the IMA demands and that the government has decided to add 400 more doctors to the public health system. 
However, IMA President Prof. Zion Hagay said that the Finance Ministry has not allocated the necessary funds and the cost of additional staff must be covered by already cash-strapped hospitals. 
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Doctors receiving coronavirus training at Rambam Healthcare Campus in Haifa  
(Photo: AP)
The Finance Ministry on Monday did back down from its previous demand that doctors in quarantine due to exposure to coronavirus patients would have their salary cut for the days in isolation.   