Back at it! Israeli medics help Italy battle new Covid spike

Israeli medics were in northern Italy this week helping local hospitals fight a serious second wave of coronavirus with thousands being taken to hospital with Covid-19.

The team of 21 medical staff and experts in disaster medicine from Sheba Medical Center flew to Piedmont on Tuesday for a ten-day mission designed to relieve pressure on their Italian counterparts.

Despite welcome news of vaccine success, countries around the world are experiencing an increase in cases, just as Israel’s own second wave subsides following another state-wide lockdown.

A team led by Professor Elhanan Bar-On headed to Piedmont after the region registered 169,000 infections in less than a week, resulting in 4,600 hospitalisations. Of these, 377 are in intensive care.

Bar-On, who has offered humanitarian assistance after natural disasters in India, Haiti, Nepal, Turkey and the Philippines, said: “We will be joining hands and working shoulder to shoulder with Italian medical staff to save lives and make a better world.”