Aryeh Even, 88, a resident of Jerusalem, died of the coronavirus at Shaare Zedek Hospital Friday night. A Holocaust survivor, he made aliyah from Hungary in 1949. He is survived by four children, 18 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Even’s family issued a message Saturday morning, saying: “We are sad we weren’t allowed to be at his side in his last moments.”
Meanwhile, the number of coronavirus patients in Israel rose to 883 Saturday morning, an increase of 178 patients since Friday. 15 patients are in serious condition, 19 in moderate condition and the rest are mild. 36 patients have recovered.
Even spent the past four years at the Nofim Tower protected housing for the elderly in Jerusalem. He was hospitalized a week ago in serious condition and was suffering many significant background illnesses. 170 residents of Nofim Tower have been in quarantine since Wednesday, March 11, after a social worker at the institution became infected with the virus.
Nofim Tower Director General Rafi Pollak told Reshet Bet radio on Saturday: “Once we learned there was a social worker infected with the coronavirus, we repeatedly pleaded with the health ministry to do tests for the tenants who had come in contact with her. But despite the fact that ours is a high-risk population – elderly people with background illnesses, the health ministry refused, saying it would only do the tests when symptoms started to appear.”
Pollak added: “This weekend, we will allow tenants to come out of solitary confinement and will establish a secure protocol.”
Tzvi Levy, head of the tenants’ association at Nofim Tower, said about the late Aryeh Even: “I knew him. This man would have lived a few more months or years, the coronavirus killed him too soon.”
On Thursday, the condition of an 89-year-old resident of Nofim Tower who was also infected with the virus has worsened, and she was admitted to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital.