Israel Katz visits MK Bitan in coronavirus ward: 'We saved your place'
"I'm glad to hear that you overcame, you won once again," Katz told Bitan.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFMK David Bitan of the Likud party seen at the election committee where political parties running for a spot in the upcoming Israeli election arrive to present their party list, at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem, on January 15, 2020. (photo credit: OLIVIER FITOUSSI/FLASH90)
Finance Minister Israel Katz assured Likud MK David Bitan, who has been hospitalized for a number of weeks due to the novel coronavirus, that his spot on the party's list was being saved. Katz visited the MK at Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer on Saturday night."I'm glad to hear that you overcame, you won once again," Katz told Bitan through a walkie-talkie in a video of the visit. "We're saving you a place in the election headquarters, David!"
"Meirav brought you a cake, finally you can get back to business," added Katz, to which Bitan responded that he "ate already.""I wish you much health, David. We're embracing you. We love you. We saved your place on the list. Everything is okay, and we'll continue together," said the finance minister.Bitan's family announced last week that his health is improving, and that he had been disconnected from an ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) machine. Later in the week he was moved out of intensive care and into the internal medicine wing at the hospital for further treatment.The MK had been hooked up to the ECMO machine for two weeks, in serious yet stable condition, following complications caused by COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, after his initial hospitalization on December 13 at Sheba Medical Center.Katz stated in a Facebook post on Saturday night that he was "so happy to be informed that [Bitan] is in the process of overcoming and recovering."He wished Bitan "all the health and happiness in the world," adding "we are all waiting for his return."
