Israel will send a team of doctors to Uruguay to help the country deal with a growing number of new coronavirus cases.
The country has been diagnosing between 2,000 and 4,000 new cases per day for the past month, according to the World 'O Meters website.
The Brazilian mutation, known to be more infectious and thought by some to be more dangerous, has spread across South America – especially to Uruguay and Peru, which border Brazil.
The Israeli delegation is being sent by Sheba Medical Center’s Israel Center for Disaster Medicine and Humanitarian Response. Before the team leaves, they are sending medical equipment to set up an operational critical-care coronavirus unit in Montevideo. It is still unclear specifically when the team will leave for their mission. The equipment is supposed to be sent in the next couple of days.
“It is our task to lend a helping hand to any nation in need of medical assistance,” said Sheba’s Deputy Director Prof. Arnon Afek, who also said that the hospital invited Uruguay’s doctors and nurses to come to Israel and train with members of the Sheba staff.
Bernardo Grevier, Uruguay’s Ambassador to Israel, upon hearing the news of the mission, said, “We are truly thankful for your assistance to the people of Uruguay, one of the first countries in the world to recognize Israel’s independence in 1948. So, your assistance to the people of Uruguay during the week of your celebrations has even more significance.”
Israel has sent missions around the world throughout the pandemic to assist with the coronavirus crisis. In December 2020, Sheba’s center sent nearly two dozen medical personnel to Italy to assist in the fight against the country’s second wave.
“We hope that after this crisis passes, we will increase our collaboration with Uruguay’s healthcare system,” added Yossef Bar Magen, director of Sheba’s Friends of Latin America chapter.