At present, Israel has only 1,500 ventilators in stock that are “usable and available,” Israeli Health Ministry director general Moshe Bar Siman Tov said on Thursday, contradicting a report presented to the country’s parliament earlier in the day.
Bar Siman Tov added, however, that in the near future, “a total of 2,864 machines will be available,” according to Ynet.
The Knesset Research and Information Center report presented to the Knesset on Thursday claimed that Israel had 2,173 ventilators, including 28 with malfunctions and 708 that are already in use.
The Knesset report comes amid increasing concerns regarding the country’s health-care system’s ability to cope with an exponential rise in the number of coronavirus patients.
Last week, Israel’s Defense Ministry announced that its Directorate of Production and Procurement will be purchasing 2,500 ventilation machines in Israel and abroad.
