COVID-19: Opposition urges emergency Knesset session on hospital crisis

Israeli opposition leaders have urged Knesset Speaker Mickey Levy to reconvene the Knesset plenum for an emergency session, despite recess, to address the collapse of hospitals amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The faction heads of the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) parties United Torah Judaism and Shas sent a joint statement to Levy, urging him to deal with the collapse of hospitals, which now refuse to admit COVID-19 patients and are set to go into “Shabbat mode” amid a severe lack of funding.

“The hospitals are suffering from a lack of funding and a halt in supplies,” they said. “Especially during this rise in COVID-19 morbidity, we demand that the Knesset convene to address this emergency and the government’s prolonged disregard of the hospitals’ basic requirements.”

COALITION CHAIRWOMAN Idit Silman speaks in the Knesset in Jerusalem on Monday. (credit: NOAM MOSCOWITZ/KNESSET SPOKESMAN'S OFFICE)

This comes following Knesset Health Committee and Coalition Chairwoman Idit Silman’s announcement that she would convene an emergency session of the committee to discuss the hospitals.

Silman had asked Levy to convene this meeting due to the urgency of the situation. He agreed and the meeting, set for next Tuesday, will also address the mental healthcare system.

 

- Source : Jerusalem Post Staff