Health Ministry accidentally inflates coronavirus toll in Israel, sparking panic

Official statistics erroneously report 90 new cases to bring tally to 344, which was later revised back to 250; at least 8,571 people have been tested so far for COVID-19

Ynet|
The Health Ministry on Monday accidentally reported an inflated number of coronavirus cases in Israel, briefly claiming a rise of 90 patients in less than a day before almost immediately pulling the numbers and revising back to 250.
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  • Of that number, four patients remain in a serious condition.
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    חיטוי וניקויון בתחנות ורכבות ישראל למניעת התפשטות נגיף הקורונה
    חיטוי וניקויון בתחנות ורכבות ישראל למניעת התפשטות נגיף הקורונה
    Health workers disinfect an Israeli train station
    (Photo: Israel Railways)
    Health officials said that so far they've conducted 8,571 coronavirus tests. '
    Also Monday, an Israeli diplomat serving in Madrid was diagnosed with coronavirus.
    This is the second case of an Israeli diplomat catching the virus after an official working in Greece became infected and passed the virus on to members of his family.
    Meanwhile, the director-general of the Foreign Ministry, Yuval Rotem, went into quarantine after coming into contact with a person confirmed as having the coronavirus.
    Rotem had spoken at a Foreign Ministry cadets course at which one of the attendees later tested positive for the virus.
    Foreign Ministry spokesman Lior Hayat is also in home quarantine after he caught a bus from Modi'in to Jerusalem with a person later confirmed to have the virus.
    The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said Monday that another soldier has tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the tally of troops infected with COVID-19 to five.
    The soldier (No. 247 in order of diagnosis) is a 22-year-old resident of central Israel.
    He has contracted the virus from a patient No. 174 and his condition is described as mild.
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