Prime minister had been admitted with high fever, cough; doctors say all tests negative, so he was sent home and told to rest
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was discharged from a Jerusalem hospital early Wednesday after doctors found he was suffering from a viral infection. Earlier he had been taken to the hospital suffering from a high fever and coughing.
Netanyahu, 68, was ordered to undergo a series of tests at Hadassah Medical Center in Ein Karem, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.
“The prime minister has completed a series of tests and will be released home tonight,” the hospital said in a statement. “The tests indicate a mild viral infection in the upper respiratory tract.”
Shortly after midnight Netanyahu tweeted that he was on his way home.
“Thanks to for all your concern,” he wrote. “I’m on my way home and I am sure that some rest and hot soup will sort it all out. Good night.”
Earlier, his office listed his symptoms as a high fever and “coughs,” without providing further details.
“Doctors have advised the prime minister to rest and a treatment with medication,” the hospital statement said.
The Ynet news site reported that he underwent an X-ray and results were normal.
Netanyahu had been ill in recent weeks and his condition initially worsened because he had not taken enough rest to fully recover, Netanyahu’s personal physician Zvi Berkowitz said in the PMO statement, sent out just before 10 p.m.
He was taken to the hospital in his normal car and not an ambulance, according to Hadashot news.
A spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office told the Times of Israel they were “not aware” if a temporary deputy prime minister had been appointed who would take over if Netanyahu were to be sedated or otherwise incapacitated. Army Radio reported that he was conscious and capable of fulfilling all his responsibilities as prime minister.
A meeting of the high-level security cabinet scheduled for Wednesday for Wednesday was not canceled. If Netanyahu cannot attend, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman will run the meeting, Housing Minister Yoav Galant told Army Radio.
Netanyahu’s earlier illness, which was unspecified, had caused a delay in his questioning by police in a high-profile corruption investigation concerning the Bezeq telecom giant.
He was questioned in the case Monday, along with his wife Sara and son Yair.
After the questioning, the prime minister released a Hebrew-language video on his Facebook page in which he asserted that he had “complete certainty” that he would be cleared, and repeated his refrain that: “There won’t be anything, because there was nothing.”
At a medical check-up in August 2016, he received a clean bill of health. In the annual medical report for the prime minister, Berkowitz reported the premier’s health to be “excellent,” and said that Netanyahu maintains a “healthy lifestyle and healthy eating habits.”
However, he has undergone a number of operations while in office.
In May, the prime minister had a bladder stone removed under anesthesia.
In December 2015, Netanyahu underwent an exploratory colonoscopy, also under sedation.
The tests revealed a number of polyps, which were successfully removed, his office said at the time.
In 2013, the prime minister also underwent an emergency hernia operation, and a similar colonoscopy in 2014 as part of his annual health examination, results of which were released to the public.
As reported by The Times of Israel