Test Maccabiah athletes for swine flu, urges Israeli minister
MEITAL YASUR-BEIT OR
JERUSALEM -— Israel’s Deputy Health Minister Yakov Litzman has expressed his concern over the expected arrival of thousands of athletes for next month’s Maccabiah Games and said they should all be tested for swine flu.¬†”Some 5000 athletes are expected to arrive from all over the world. I want us to test all of them before they land in Israel,” he said on Sunday.¬†”I want to prevent a situation in which 5000 additional people arrive and the disease spreads even more.”
Litzman has instructed Israeli hospitals to stop taking in swine flu patients who are in minor condition and to send them to community clinics instead.¬†The Health Ministry also cancelled its recommendation to Israelis not to travel to Mexico.¬†According to the deputy minister, from now on swine flu patients will only be hospitalized in cases of complication and deterioration in their condition.¬†Health Ministry Director-General Avi Yisraeli explained: “In the vast majority of cases, the illness is minor. We have not seen cases of complications in Israel, so there is no reason to act in a different manner than with regular flu.”