A 26-year-old COVID-19 patient from East Jerusalem died Thursday after developing complications from the pathogen.
Ramzi Abu-Miala was pronounced dead at the capital’s Hadassah Medical Center after he collapsed at his home and was evacuated to the hospital for life saving treatment. A test performed on the man in the hospital revealed he was COVID-19 positive.
Magen David Adom paramedics who were called to the scene said they found Abu-Miala lying on the floor unconscious. They had performed CPR on the patient and took him to the hospital’s "shock room," where doctors were forced to pronounce his death.
The exact cause of his death currently remains unknown.
According to Abu-Miala’s family, he did not suffer from any underlying illnesses and as far as they know was not inoculated against coronavirus. "In the morning he felt chest pains and was taken to the hospital," said one family member.
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Medical staffers at Hadassah Hospital's coronavirus ward, Jerusalem
(Photo: Amit Shabi)
While data showed COVID-19 vaccines managed to cut infection rates by over 50% among young Israelis, the number of young people hospitalized due to coronavirus keeps climbing.
On Thursday, the Health Ministry reported that there are currently 38 coronavirus patients aged 18 or younger hospitalized across the country, of whom four are in critical condition and are connected to ventilators, while one is in serious condition.
Meanwhile, Israel’s overall number of patients in serious condition - as well those connected to ventilators - continues to decline. At least 770 seriously ill patients are currently hospitalized, of whom 249 are connected to ventilators.
The ministry added that on Wednesday, 4,298 new coronavirus cases were diagnosed. With more than 75,000 tests conducted, the contagion rate currently stands at 5.9%.
This decline in infections as well as in overall serious cases can be attributed to the success of Israel’s vaccination drive, which has already inoculated over 3.2 million Israelis with the second vaccine jab.