Israel’s Defense Ministry and the IDF are continuing to prepare for evacuation of the country’s strictly Orthodox(Hareidi) population to “Coronavirus Hotels” as members of their communities become infected with COVID-19, the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus.
According to a report published by the Hebrew-language Kikar HaShabbat news site, however, more than 4,500 of these strictly Orthodox Israelis have already been evacuated to hotels, and there are thousands more expected, with hotels facing a difficult burden, according to the report.
As a result, the Defense Ministry is reportedly considering renting two cruise ships to house the thousands of other strictly Orthodox coronavirus patients until they recover.
Each ship is expected to accommodate approximately 2,500 patients, with one anchoring in the port of Ashdod and the other in the port of Haifa. The kashrut aboard the vessels is to be maintained at the mehadrin standard expected by strictly Orthodox families.
In addition, the hotel at Kibbutz Lavi in northern Israel is also expected to open it doors this week for strictly Orthodox coronavirus families; so is a guest house in Bayit Vegan. According to the report, the Caesar Hotel is expected to open for yeshiva students infected with the virus as well.