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Likud lawmaker David Bitan has been hospitalized in intensive care days after it was announced that he had contracted the coronavirus, Hebrew media reported Sunday.
Bitan was reportedly brought in for treatment at the Sheba Medical Center in the central city of Ramat Gan, where, according to the Ynet news site, the 60-year-old man is in treatment after suffering from shortness of breath.
Channel 12 news did not give specific details about Bitan’s condition, but said he was undergoing tests. Army Radio said his condition was stable.
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There were no comments on the reports from Bitan’s office or his Likud party.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and MP David Bitan at a Likud party rally in Tel Aviv on August 9, 2017 (Tomer Neuberg / Flash90).
Last Monday, the Knesset Guard announced that Bitan had tested positive for the virus.
“I feel fine, I only have mild symptoms,” Bitan said of her condition in a Twitter post.
Parliament said it was tracking Bitan’s contacts, but no information was offered on where Bitan is believed to have been infected.
According to Channel 12 news, Bitan continued to meet with people prior to her diagnosis despite feeling unwell and having a cough. Around 30 people were reportedly forced to self-quarantine as a result of his failure to follow the directive to stay home when feeling unwell.
Bitan, who chairs the Knesset’s Committee on Immigration and Absorption, was among the politicians who welcomed the new immigrants from Ethiopia a few days before their diagnosis.
That ceremony was also attended by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi and other senior government officials, although politicians wore masks at the open-air welcome event at Ben Gurion Airport.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, second from left, and his wife Sarah, third from left, greet members of the Ethiopian Jewish community as they arrive at Ben Gurion Airport, outside Tel Aviv, on December 3, 2020. (Amos Ben Gershon / GPO).
Netanyahu’s office said he would not isolate himself as he was exposed to Bitan for less than 15 minutes, according to Channel 13.
Likud MK Miki Zohar announced that he would go into quarantine after meeting with Bitan on Thursday.
Bitan joins a handful of lawmakers and ministers who have contracted the virus, including then-Health Minister Yaakov Litzman, Immigration Minister Pnina Tamano-Shata, Joint List Leader Ayman Odeh, Minister of Environmental Protection Gila Gamliel , Jerusalem Affairs Minister Rafi Peretz and Shas MK Yinon Azoulay.
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