Home Front Command soldiers
Home Front Command soldiersIDF spokesperson

The IDF is establishing two corona wards at Rambam Hospital in Haifa, for dozens of patients in moderate condition.

This is the first time that a military hospital has been established for the benefit of civilians within the borders of Israeli territory, and the entire area will be operated by military forces.

"One of the considerations for choosing Rambam Hospital is due to the high number of patients in the north," explained IDF Spokesman Brigadier General Hedi Zilberman. "The first ward will be opened within a month and the second after that, and they will be manned by regular medics and doctors on the order of about a hundred military personnel."

The increasing morbidity in both the IDF and Israeli society as a whole is of great concern to Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi, which is the reason a General Staff workshop on the subject of the coronavirus is taking place tonight.

1016 IDF servicemen have been diagnosed with the coronavirus, most of whom are in light condition. The majority are being hospitalized in a hotel in Ashkelon when another recovery facility is being opened today (Thursday) in Olga. There are currently about 13,000 soldiers who are in home isolation.

As for the IDF lab, it currently performs 1,000 tests per day and is scheduled to take on another robot that will significantly increase the amount of tests.

In addition, the IDF is increasing its number of epidemiological researchers. There are currently 1,700 researchers, by the end of the month their number will reach 2,400 and in mid-November there will be 2,800.