TEL AVIV, ISRAEL – MARCH 20: An Israeli Fire Department crew man drives a fire truck before spraying disinfctants to sanitize the entrance to Tel Aviv’s Hospital Emergency Department on March 20, 2020 in Tel Aviv, Israel. Number of coronavirus in Israel continues to jump, after over 200 new cases have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. (Photo by Amir Levy/Getty Images) Two more Israelis died from coronavirus on March 24, bringing the total current death toll to three in the country.
The Times of Israel reported that the two dead were an 87-year-old man who suffered from dementia and diabetes, and a 67-year-old woman identified as Malka Keva, who had been battling cancer. The 87-year-old man was hospitalized in Jerusalem; Keva was hospitalized in Bat Yam, just south of Tel Aviv.
Keva’s daughter, Dorit, told the Israeli news site N12 that people need to stay inside.
“Don’t go out,” Dorit said. “You risk yourself, your children, your relatives and people you don’t know. My mother gave her life, gave her soul to the Creator because of this illness. We are hurting, we are sad.”
Israel’s first coronavirus death occurred on March 20, identified as 88-year-old Holocaust survivor Arie Even. His funeral took place on March 22; only 20 people were allowed to attend and they had to be socially distanced from each other.
According to the Israeli Health Ministry, there are around 1,930 total coronavirus cases in Israel. An estimated six percent of those tested have the virus. The Jerusalem Post reported that nearly 25% of the cases originated in synagogues.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on March 23 that up to 1 million Israelis could be infected and 10,000 could die from the virus in a month. The Israeli government is expected to approve new social distancing rules on March 24 restricting how far Israelis can stray from their homes.
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