HAIFA (JTA) — The Israel Defense Forces opened two civilian coronavirus wards in an underground parking complex designed to be used for medical purposes during wartime.
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The opening of the wards at Rambam Hospital in Haifa mark the first time the military has opened medical wards for civilians.
The wards, which opened to patients last month, are in a facility constructed after the hospital came under fire during the Second Lebanon War in 2006.
The wards will be staffed by about 100 members of the military’s medical staff, the IDF said in a statement. Over the last week, medical personnel assigned to the wards underwent training by Rambam staff, according to the IDF.
The effort is part of the military’s Operation Tribe of Brothers to help battle the coronavirus pandemic.
מבצע "שבט אחים" יצא לדרך: מחלקות הקורונה הצבאיות נפתחו לראשונה בביה"ח רמב"ם >>> https://t.co/7dw9ZubOIC pic.twitter.com/ngdDgcx3on
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) October 11, 2020
latest data shows it is not an epidemic requiring lockdowns and masks at all times:
360 deaths under the age of 70
only 1,000 seriously or moderately sick
only 2% of the so-called infected are actually sick