Nurse close to Gantz surgery tests positive for coronavirus

The Defense Minister will not need to enter isolation.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Alternate Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Benny Gantz at the weekly cabinet meeting, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem on June 28, 2020. (photo credit: OLIVIER FITOUSSI/FLASH90)
Alternate Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Benny Gantz at the weekly cabinet meeting, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem on June 28, 2020.
(photo credit: OLIVIER FITOUSSI/FLASH90)
A nurse at Sheba Medical Center who was in close to proximity to Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz's back surgery tested positive for coronavirus, the hospital announced on Thursday.
An epidemiological investigation conducted on Thursday morning by the director of the hospital's infection prevention unit, Prof. Gili Regev, found that the defense minister and the medical team around him were not exposed to the nurse, and therefore do not have to enter isolation.
The Defense Ministry said in a statement, "In the operating room of Defense Minister Benny Gantz, which was carried out successfully, a nurse was present who tested positive for coronavirus. According to a hospital examination, the minister was not with the nurse and no isolation is required."
Gantz successfully underwent back surgery at Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer on Wednesday morning, in a procedure lasting several hours. Gantz arrived at the hospital on Tuesday for a consultation concerning a serious back injury he has suffered from for years and that recently worsened. The injury was caused during his military service.
The decision to operate was made due to his worsening condition.