Israeli hospitals have been told to prepare for a scenario in which a further 340 children are hospitalized in serious condition with coronavirus, Israel Hayom reported.
The hospitals have been requested to prepare for a scenario in which they are forced to add hundreds of beds, including another 40 in pediatric ICUs, for children who are in serious condition due to coronavirus infection, within a matter of days.
In such a scenario, five hospitals - Hadassah Ein Kerem, Hadassah Mount Scopus, Ichilov, Rambam, and Sheba - would open additional pediatric wards with 45 beds each, intended for the hospitalization of children seriously ill with coronavirus.
Schneider Children's Medical Center would add 60 beds - two wards - while Be'er Sheva's Soroka and the French Hospital in Nazareth would add 30 beds each. In addition, hospitals would add 40 beds in the coronavirus PICU.
Treatment of pediatric patients suffering from severe COVID-19 will be concentrated in these seven hospitals, Israel Hayom added.
There are currently just nine children hospitalized with coronavirus in Israel's hospitals, with just one in serious condition.
According to Israel Hayom, Israel's Health Ministry stressed that children should not be treated in a similar manner to adults, and therefore hospitals should prepare to open wards intended for children only, staffed by medical personnel who are proficient in treating children. The Ministry also ordered the hospitals to prepare for the possibility of allowing parents to remain with young coronavirus patients.