Relatives of the tenth patient to have died after contracting coronavirus at a nursing home in Be'er Sheva, slammed the staff for ignoring his severe symptoms for several days.
As of Wednesday morning, 72 people in Israel have died from complications related to COVID-19, with at least 9,404 confirmed cases. Two people who died overnight Tuesday, contracted the virus at Mishan Be'er Sheva, making them ninth and tenth victims from the southern nursing home.
Shimon Rainzilber, 97, died at Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva, having suffered from underlying health conditions. He is survived by one son, three grandchildren and eight great grandchildren.
Him and his wife moved to the assisted living facility six years ago. His wife died three months ago, which greatly contributed to his deteriorating health.
“Coronavirus is the bullet that killed my grandfather, but Mishan was the hand that pulled the trigger,” he said. “And they killed another nine others before him,” he added.
“It's literally a state-sponsored extermination camp.”
The grandson said once it was revealed some of the residents at the nursing home tested positive for COVID-19, Shimon was also taken to the hospital for tests, having exhibited symptoms. His coronavirus test, however, initially came back negative and he was released back to the nursing home.
The symptoms, however, persisted despite the negative test.
“There was a caregiver with him, who said she was trying to talk with the staff, but they didn’t pay any attention,” said the grandson, adding that it went on for two days. “All this time my grandfather was short of breath and in pain. There was no one to check on him to see what was going on with him."
The grandson said that only after he personally visited the assisted living facility, demanding that his grandfather sees a doctor, they had conducted another coronavirus test, which after several days came back positive.
"He didn't want to be taken to the hospital and wanted to die at home, but he was suffering. I called an ambulance and they took him to the hospital,” he said. “After my grandmother passed away, he said, ‘I'll last three months without her’ and he passed away exactly three months after her.”
His grandson said 97-year-old Holocaust survivor was among the first 17 families who arrived in Be'er Sheva in 1949.