Elyakim-Raz said that this time around, she is seeing patients who meet the definition of serious illness – a blood oxygen level below 93 percent and a chest x-ray that reveals infection – but are nevertheless in better clinical shape than people with the same characteristics in previous waves. Therefore, she said, their condition often improves more quickly, and they can be released sooner. Alternatively, some remain stable and are then released but kept on oxygen.
So far, “no patient has been sent to intensive care” during the current wave,” she said. “That’s a major difference from previous waves, when patients were sent to or returned from intensive care on a daily basis.”