Magen David Adom to run 'check and travel' stations during Ramadan

Israel's national medical service Magen David Adom (MDA) announced Friday a plan to operate mobile coronavirus "check and travel" stations in areas with a high proportion of Muslim-Israelis.

An MDA medic wearing protective gear against coronavirus waits outside Shaare Zedek Hospital, Jerusalem (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
An MDA medic wearing protective gear against coronavirus waits outside Shaare Zedek Hospital, Jerusalem
(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
Israel's national medical service Magen David Adom (MDA) announced Friday a plan to operate mobile coronavirus "check and travel" stations in areas with a high proportion of Muslim-Israelis in order to facilitate the annual fast of Ramadan.
The stations will be located in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa and Beersheba. Additionally, MDA and the Health Ministry will establish mobile stations in the villages of Kfar Manda and Majd al-Chrom. Following Shabbat, these stations will also be set up in Modi'in Illit and the Geula neighborhood of Jerusalem.
 
Ramadan is the most sacred month of the year in Islamic culture. Muslims observe the month of Ramadan by partaking in a month-long fast during daylight hours. Approximately 18% of Israelis identify as Muslim.
Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, thousands of MDA paramedics and health staff have continued to test Israeli civilians unable to reach the mobile stations with home visits and at nursing homes throughout the country. As part of its efforts to combat the outbreak, MDA has been taking plasma doses (the blood component containing virus antibodies) from Israelis who have recovered from the virus.