The condition of an 11-year-old COVID-19 patient has deteriorated, leaving her in serious condition in an induced coma and on a ventilator.
The deterioration means that the girl is now the country's youngest coronavirus sufferer in serious condition.
The girl had been staying with her family at a hotel in Tiberias designated for coronavirus patients, and was hospitalized Friday at the city's Poriya Hospital with constant vomiting, high fever and lack of appetite.
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Medical staff at Poriya Hospital preparing to treat COVID-19 patients
(Photo: Courtesy)
On Saturday, the girl's condition deteriorated further and her doctors began to fear that she had inflammation around her heart (pericarditis).
She suffered another downturn during, prompting the medical team to sedate her and put her on a ventilator before transferring her to Rambam Healthcare Campus in Haifa.
Dr. Amir Hadash, a senior doctor at Rambam's pediatric intensive care unit, said: "We admitted an 11-year-old girl from the center of the country without background illnesses who was transferred to us from Poriya Hospital where she arrived with abdominal pain after a few weeks of illness.
"Her condition deteriorated while she was there, with the main problem being inflammation around the heart. She was intubated, given blood pressure support and transferred to us. At the moment, she seems to be in stable condition."
More than 270 COVID-19 patients have been diagnosed in the settlement of Beitar Illit, including 69 people who have already recovered.
Over the past three days, 15 additional patients were diagnosed in the settlement.
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Police officers operate at a roadblock at the entrance to Beitar Illit
(Photo: Eli Mandelbaum)
Beitar Illit was for a time among the communities considered for full lockdown due to relatively high mortality rates there, though no such a move was ultimately implemented.
Still, the fight against the spread of the virus continues, with 24 checkpoints deployed Sunday morning in several neighborhoods in Netivot. The government decided to designate the neighborhoods as "restricted areas" after 89 people were diagnosed as carriers of the coronavirus in the city.
The closure in the city is expected to last until 6am Friday. During this time residents will not be able to leave the restricted neighborhoods except for medical emergencies or to go to a workplace deemed essential by the state.
As of Sunday evening, the number of coronavirus patients in Israel stood at 15,443 with 201 deaths from complications related to the virus.