Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in Israel, Magen David Adom has been at the frontline of the battle against the virus.
MDA’s tactics in combatting COVID-19 have been critical in preventing an even larger crisis in Israel.
Since MDA’s inception 90 years ago, its purpose has been to provide real-time medical assistance to the people of Israel, regardless of race, religion or background. MDA’s unique structure of more than 24,000 volunteers, who undergo annual, professional medical training and 4000 professional staff enables Israel to save countless lives and prevent the overcrowding of hospitals during the pandemic.
From responding to wars, bombings, rocket attacks, stabbings and disease, MDA has literally been on the frontline of every battle for Israel, not to wage war but to save lives.
From the start of the pandemic, MDA set up emergency call centres with hundreds of volunteers to help the public. The call centres began by answering around 6,000 calls a day and rapidly grew to over 100,000 calls each day.
Volunteers and staff are trained to provide accurate information and medical advice and instructions.
When patients need to be tested, MDA medics in protective gear and masks bring the medical tests to the patients in quarantine, rather than have the patients risk exposing others by going to the hospital.
Even post diagnosis, MDA medical staff assists patients, whether cases are severe and need hospitalisation or simply require monitoring at home.
As the crisis grows, MDA continues to open more Drive Through testing centres, minimizing hospitalisation as much as possible.
More than 450,000 COVID-19 tests have already been conducted by MDA and testing continues. The early detection of COVID-19 helps prevent the wide scale spread of the virus.
MDA’s medics and volunteers are also continuing to treat every day medical emergencies without having to take patients to hospital, which could put them at risk of exposure to COVID-19.
Forbes magazine ranked Israel as one of the safest countries in the world when considering the impact of COVID-19. This is testament to our incredible MDA teams who have shown endless dedication, professionalism and compassion, setting some of the highest medical standards in the world. MDA is Israel’s life support.