Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a meeting on Saturday about how to handle a recent spike in coronavirus infections in Israel, which the Health Ministry said is due to the public not following its guidelines, according to Health Ministry Director-General Moshe Bar Siman Tov, who briefed the public on Friday. At the time of the briefing there were 85 new coronavirus cases in 24 hours. Less than two hours later, that number jumped to 101 – surpassing a limit set by Netanyahu in May that could put the country back under lockdown. “We had a period of euphoria,” Bar Siman Tov said. “Now we have received a wake up call.” “The Health Ministry is concerned about the increase in the number of patients and the rate of infection, along with trends of indifference and complacency that are expressed in contempt and disregard for the rules,” the Health Ministry said in a statement Saturday evening, noting that newly appointed Health Minister Yuli Edelstein had met with professionals over the holiday and has directed his team to run a campaign to increase compliance.
“Health Ministry experts reiterate the three ironclad rules: 1 – you must wear mask in public spaces and workplaces; 2 – you must adhere to good hygiene; 3 – maintain two meters between people.”
Bar Siman Tov said Friday that the majority of new infections emanated from schools – 7% from middle schools and 35% from high schools, which was supported by a report put out by the Education Ministry the next day. Although there had been murmurs about going back to a capsule system or even shutting down schools again, the director-general said, “We have no regrets” about opening them and “we knew there would be some trial and error. If the data shows we need to close them down again, we will do so… We’re trying to reach a balance between maintaining a low number of infections and opening up the economy.” On Saturday night, the Health Ministry announced that schools would continue meeting as usual, except for in areas where there are coronavirus outbreaks. Some seven schools and 10 preschools are expected to be closed on Sunday. As of Saturday afternoon, 107 students and preschoolers and 36 school employees across the country were sick with coronavirus. The school with the highest number of sick students is Gymnasia Rehavia. A late night update by Kan news showed 121 people were infected, including 106 students and 15 staff members. Moreover, many of the students family members have been infected, including one grandparent who is now in the hospital. According to the Education Ministry, some 487 students and 100 school employees are in isolation. Initially, officials were murmuring that the Health Ministry is pushing to close all middle and high schools through the end of the year. The rationale is that older children have a higher infection rate than those children under 10 by all international studies and that with only 20 days left of the school year, the older children won’t miss much via distance learning. Moreover, older children can stay home alone so parents can still work and the economy will not be impacted. The decision was made by the Coronavirus Cabinet, which includes Netanyahu, Defense Minister Benny Gantz, Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi, Finance Minister Israel Katz, Minister of Internal Security Amir Ohana, Justice Minister Avi Nissenkorn, Education Minister Yoav Galant and Health Minister Yuli Edelstein. The ministers also decided that the opening of event halls and cultural and entertainment centers would not be delayed, but will take place as scheduled on June 14. However, they did determine that enforcement of Health Ministry regulations would be stepped up, including enforcement of fines and closures on businesses that break them. As of 7 p.m. Saturday, Israel had 1,917 active coronavirus patients – an increase of nine from the day before. Of the patients, 36 are in serious condition, 42 in moderate condition and among them 34 are intubated. The death toll has remained at 284, the Health Ministry reported. The total number of coronavirus cases to date in Israel is 17,012 – an increase of 14 in the last day.
In its statement, the ministry said it is monitoring the centers of infection and assessing the situation.
During the week of March 15 to 21, the average number of new daily patients was 84. The next week, between March 22 to 28, that number spiked to an average of 390.
Remember, it was at a press conference on May 4 that Netanyahu said that restrictions would be restored if the Health Ministry saw any of the following three scenarios: More than 100 new patients per day; a doubling of the number of patients in 10 days; or 250 patients in serious condition.
At the press briefing, the number of daily patients was 85 and Bar Siman Tov acknowledged that the country was likely to pass this threshold, as it did. He said that the government and the ministry would work together to evaluate the changes they made in recent weeks and revise as necessary. Additionally, the Knesset Coronavirus Committee announced it would hold an urgent meeting on Monday to discuss next steps in the process and how to keep Israelis safe while allowing the economy to move forward.
The National Information and Knowledge Center has identified key neighborhoods in which it is recommending that the Health Ministry increase screenings. These include Beit Shemeh, Bnei Brak, Hura, Pardes Hannah and Tel Aviv.
In terms of the number of tests, on Friday, 4,182 people were screened for SARS-CoV-2 and 1.5% of them came out positive. This is a significant increase in the positive percentage of tests compared to the previous days, when only around .5% came out positive. It was difficult to gauge the numbers on Saturday, with the Health Ministry reporting that only 1,825 people were screened. Moreover, the results of at least 50% of those tested had not yet been processed, so the daily number was expected to increase. One wishing to get tested can call: Clalit *2700, Maccabi *3555, Leumit *507 or Meuhedet *3833.
Two Magen David Adom drive-in coronavirus screening centers opened Saturday in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and two more are expected to open in Haifa and Beersheba.
Head of Public Health Sigal Sadetsky said during the Friday briefing that the ministry is also focused on maintaining an increased level of testing at senior living facilities and of students and teachers – even if they are asymptomatic – who came in contact with an infected person at their school.
Meanwhile, more students and teachers are being diagnosed with the virus, as well as some medical professionals.
On Friday afternoon, two nurses employed by Hillel Yaffe Medical Center in Hadera were diagnosed with the virus, causing more than 41 members of the hospital’s staff to go into isolation. Shortly thereafter, a doctor from Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba tested positive, putting 31 members of the staff into isolation. Later, it was announced that members of the Beitar Jerusalem youth group were going into isolation after three players tested positive for coronavirus. The groups were reportedly separated for training and did not have access to others in the training compound.
The Education Ministry shared that so far, 17 schools are closed and 34 preschools and schools have had cases of infection. As of Friday, 485 students and teachers are in isolation.
Among the sick: A boy who learns at kindergarten for foreign students in southern Tel Aviv tested positive, sending 30 children and three staff members into isolation. Sadetsky said that the country is seeing a spike in infections among foreign workers and that this is not limited to people from a certain country or living in a certain geographic area in Israel. She said she believes that it is a result of allowing people to gather more than anything else.
Also, 97 students and teachers from the Gymnasia Rehavia school were diagnosed with coronavirus, among them 82 students, according to the Jerusalem Municipality. As of late Friday, according to the school, some 700 students and staff members have been tested at Hadassah Ein Kerem. This means the infection rate at the school is just over 11%, and by Sunday, it is expected that all students and staff members will be screened.
The municipality said that it also plans to test all of the students’ family members.The Paula Ben Gurion elementary school in the city will close at least for Sunday and Monday, due to the large number of students who have siblings at the Gymnasia Rehavia.
Three family members in Or Yehuda tested positive. One of the children was a student at an area preschool, which means all his classmates and teachers are now in isolation, too.
In addition, teachers at three schools in the Bedouin village of Saifa in the Negev were found sick. The Health Ministry said it will test all their colleagues in the coming days.
There have also been students found sick in Bat Yam.
“It is clear to us that the rules in general, and especially in schools, are not being strictly adhered to,” a senior Health Ministry official told Ynet. The recent spike, Bar Siman Tov, is also proving that hot weather does not stop the novel coronavirus from spreading. On Friday morning, the ministry sent a special message to the public asking people to uphold three rules: good hygiene, wearing masks and social distancing. “The ministry calls on the public not to go into complacency and strictly adhere to the guidelines,” the statement read. “The mood that the coronavirus is behind us is wrong.” On Thursday, Health Minister Yuli Edelstein, Education Minister Yoav Galant and Higher Education Minister Ze’ev Elkin announced that colleges and universities, informal education programs and post-high school seminaries and yeshivas could resume in-person classes beginning as early as Sunday. Originally, colleges and universities were only slated to return mid-June and there had been no decision on the other programs.
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