Drive and Check

22.3.20

There additional locations for coronavirus swab tests will be opened by MDA

Facing the coronavirus outbreak and according with the Health Ministry guidelines, Magen David Adom in striving to increase the number of swab tests collected across the country. One Drive and Check location is already active at the Tel Aviv Ganei Yehoshua parking area; Israelis are arriving driving their private car and tested while sitting in their car.

According to the decision taken by Minister of Health, Health Ministry Director General – Moshe bar Siman Tov and MDA Director General – Eli Bin, tonight (Saturday Night) three additional Drive and Test locations will be formed in Haifa, Jerusalem and Beer Sheba.

A message about their locations and the beginning of their activities will be published in due time

The three new locations will be formed ASAP and are expected to be active in the next few days. Like the already active Drive and Test location in TLV, in each of the new locations thousands of Israelis are expected to be tested every day. Each location will be manned MDA medical teams, Police officers and security personnel that will maintain public order. Patients that will be able to reach the Drive and Test locations, without the use of public transportation, will be tested at their home, as conducted previously up to date.

MDA points out that arriving to the Drive and Test location is subjected first to calling MDA 101 dispatch centre and receiving and approval. The swab test approval is granted by a physician; the person will receive a text message with all the details and will be asked to reach the designated Drive and Test location close to his residence at the time scheduled.

The person will arrive driving his private car; he will be identified by the QR Code, followed by the swab test taken by a well-protected MDA paramedic. Throughout the process the person will stay sitting in his car, and immediately after will drive straight back to his home.

Up to date more than 350 people were tested at the Drive and Test location in Ganei Yehoshua in Tel Aviv, and in total, since the beginning of the outbreak MDA paramedics have tested more than 14,000 people across the country.

MDA director General, Eli Bin: “Facing the struggle with the Coronavirus outbreak in Israel, we have decided with the Health Minister, the Director General of the Health ministry and the professional team members at the ministry and MDA, to dramatically increase the number of swab tests taken. MDA professional paramedics that already tested 14,000 people over the last few weeks are determined to increase their activities in spite of the overload of work and difficulties. The Drive and Test locations that has proven their effectiveness in the world are expected to increase the swab tests dramatically to the numbers we are striving to achieve. Magen David Adom will continue to do its outmost, assisting in the struggle against the coronavirus, for the good health and saving the life of the people in Israel”.

Zaki Heller

MDA spokesman

Drive and Check

A total of 832,277 Patients and casualties were transferred to hospitals

MDA Operates 166 stations throughout Israel

MDA teams perform an Average of 500 resuscitations per month

MDA evacuated 74,865 wounded in road accidents, and 5,142 wounded from work-related accidents

232 babies were delivered in ambulances and at home assisted by MDA team members

There are 350 paramedics in the organization

On average, 1,745 operational callouts take place every day

In a public satisfaction survey conducted MDA came in 2nd place after the IDF on a list of security, emergency and rescue organizations with a score of 96%

According to the organization's statistics, the average response time for an ambulance and mobile intensive care unit is 8 minutes after the first call is received

In 2015, MDA celebrated its 85th anniversary

In a public satisfaction survey conducted MDA came in 2nd place after the IDF on a list of security, emergency and rescue organizations with a score of 96%

In 2015, MDA celebrated its 85th anniversary

MDA Employs 2,200 paid staff members and activates 22,000 volunteers, 12,000 of whom are teenagers

4,500 First Responder volunteers respond to an average of 488,8 calls a month I Volunteers invest over 1.5 million hours of service per year

The oldest volunteer is 90 years old & the youngest is 15

17,954 women in labor were transferred to hospital delivery rooms

There are 3 professionals in a Mobile Intensive Care Unit

A Life Support Ambulance A MICU team of 2 includes an Emergency Medical Technician and a paramedic

100,000 Israelis have downloaded the "My MDA" cellular App

20,000 Life Guardians are active across the country

110,000People underwent resuscitation courses

An intensive first aid and resuscitation course lasts 60 Hours

More than 470 foreign volunteers from 22 different countries were trained and volunteered in MDA stations

MDA trained 3,000 young parents in Infant and Child resuscitation

1,750 teenagers are given summer courses every year in infant and child resuscitation

750 teenagers are trained during courses to manage an MCI - Multi Casualty Incident

260,000 Blood Units were donated to MDA's Blood Bank | The MDA Blood Bank Services have 43 Blood Bank Mobiles

MDA dispatchers answer an emergency phone call in less than 4 seconds

The MDA emergency phone number is 101.

MDA deploys 379 MICUs (Mobile Intensive Care Units)

MDA deploys 715 ambulances

MDA deploys 63 of which are able to navigate through difficult routes and off-road conditions

MDA deploys 8 Dune Tractors (MULES) to evacuate victims from unconventional areas

MDA deploys 5 paramedic supervisor ALS vehicles, and 2 helicopters

MDA deploys 507 First responders on motorbikes

MDA deploys 50 armored ambulances are also deployed in friction and combat zones

There are 174 MDA ambulances stationed in Kibbutzim, Moshavim and Local Councils